


Do I Wanna Know

by Nerdygeekflower



Series: Why do you only call me when You're high [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: (Vanya is a lesbian), Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, All the Warnings that Come with Klaus, Angst, Blood and Injury, Cuddles, Disability, EVERYONE WANTS TO PROTECT KLAUS, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fevers, Fluff, Gay, Good Brother Diego Hargreeves, Good Brother Luther Hargreeves, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Torture, Injury, Injury Recovery, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Klaus Hargreeves Whump, Luther is Not a Dick AU, Major Character Injury, Medical Inaccuracies, Medical Procedures, No Apocalypse, No Incest, Original Character(s), Original Female Character - Freeform, Past Drug Addiction, Past Drug Use, Permanent Injury, Physical Disability, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 01, Pride, Protective Allison Hargreeves, Protective Ben Hargreeves, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Protective Luther Hargreeves, Protective Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy), Protective Vanya Hargreeves, Recovery, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Seizures, Sequel, Sick Klaus Hargreeves, Sickfic, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Team as Family, dave is gay, disability discussed, everyone is good to each other in this one or tries to be, i don't make the rules, klaus is gay, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-03-05 17:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 38,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18833644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdygeekflower/pseuds/Nerdygeekflower
Summary: continues off of my Story 'Why do you only Call me When You're High'The road to recovery is all two steps forward and one step back. Perhaps there is even a little mystery in this misery? But hey at least they are doing it as a Family





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel.

Somewhere outside the Academy, not exactly near and not exactly far a man in a long overcoat glanced at his watch. He frowned, someone was running late and it wasn’t him. He mechanically flicked his eyes back and forth over the darkening street, where he finally saw his assistant skittering towards him, she stopped umbrella clutched in her hand but not yet unfurled.

 

            “Sir.” She said quickly as a greeting, standing up a bit straighter and holding the umbrella out for him to take, which he did.

 

            “Well?” He said impatiently, checking his watch again just so that she knew just how late she had been.

 

            “Andrew Stryker has been terminated. It was Number 2 that killed him I believe.” She reported briefly. The man nodded not surprised in the least.

 

            “Of course, what did the invaluable Mr. Stryker tell him under Number 3’s influence?” The mousy assistant opened her mouth and closed it a few times, irritating him further “Today, please. Miss. Anthea.” She shut her mouth firmly and nodded once.

 

            “Everything he knew.”

 

            “Good. Not much then.” He allowed himself a laugh, it came out more like a bark. Opening up the sleek black umbrella and pulling it into position above his head, as soon as he was protected under the umbrella the sky opened up and water began to fall in sheets, Anthea was instantly drenched, the man looked at his watch again. “We will wait for a while then. No point in furthering the plan when Number 4 is so heavily incapacitated. You are dismissed.” He looked at her expectantly without lowering his watch hand, she opened her mouth as if to respond but disappeared without a flash or a sound. The man nodded once firmly to himself as he looked at his watch once more, “Andrew made it 3,550 minutes. 720 less than I thought.” He said to no one, letting his hand fall back into attention at his side. He made no motion that he was going to move. He simply stood there, in the pouring rain, on the dark empty street, waiting for something no one but him seemed to expect.


	2. ComfortableHappySafe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff and then there's angst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright helllloo helllo. This story seems like it is going to have longer chapters, and more fluff.

Pogo told them about the file of course, but with Andrew dead there seemed to be little that could actually be done. Plus, he hadn’t actually managed to send the file back to his employer, it was placed back in the study on the desk atop the other important and forgotten papers and promptly forgotten about. Diego and Luther both went to Andrew’s hide out across the street but found nothing besides the bear minimal, nothing valuable beyond a set of instructions they already knew, along with a file with basic info on them. Nothing that wasn’t in Vanya’s book though. They did find the P.O box but it had been abandoned at around the time Klaus had been taken. Security was tightened at the manor of course but the siblings weren’t really leaving the manor that often at the moment, reluctant to leave Klaus in any sort of vulnerability that could be prevented by any of one of their presences. Klaus himself was confined strictly to bed and would be for a while, Grace was estimating that it might be months before he would be able to start to move around again, let alone try to walk.  It had only been about a week since Andrew had died and Klaus had slept through most of it.

 

He woke up now and again to his siblings gathered around him or to Vanya reading out-loud. Which were all pleasant enough things to wake up to but who he really wanted to see was never there, Dave, though there were a few more times that he woke with the scent of Dave on his lips. Sometimes he still had nightmares, still woke up screaming which ultimately melted in to coughs that were soothed by his siblings, or his mother, always there with a gentle hand or a glass of water. He still hurt, all over. His fever had been down over the last few days though which caused so much smiling from Vanya he hadn’t managed to keep his eye roll internal.

 

“Why are you rolling your eyes Klaus? Your fever is almost gone!” Vanya looked like she might explode, he had never seen her smile this much before. Vanya-smiles were normally timid and reserved, as if she was ashamed that she was happy, now however she was beaming, face split pleasantly from ear to ear. Five was observing them from his usual chair looking both pleased and proud of himself for something, the very picture of the cat that ate the canary. Diego had gone out to work something out at the Police Academy, from what Klaus understood and could stay awake to overhear he was almost done with classes, but planned to take a break between graduation and starting his new job on the force, given the circumstances he was being streamlined to detective. Klaus desperately hoped that his mother and Pogo would allow him to attend Diego’s graduation. Luther and Allison had disappeared together on a shopping trip, meaning Klaus would be gifted with another stuffed animal. Every time Luther went out shopping (usually with Allison) he brought him one, in addition to Alex (Al for short) the gender neutral cow he now had Steve the chicken and Britney the pig, all smiling nicely from various places on the bed. Before Luther had gone out Klaus had teased him about the farm theme he seemed to be running with Luther had nodded solemnly and said, ‘I’ll get you something else then’ all grim and determined, but for once it was actually kind of endearing, almost cute instead of exhausting and tedious. Klaus was admittedly excited about his impending gift, he wasn’t getting much excitement at the moment. Not that he wanted it.

 

“Vanya is right Klaus, your fever going down is a good thing, a very good thing.” Five said from his perch, not looking up from his book, which looked very boring it didn’t even have a picture on the cover.

 

“I know, it’s just that your all making such a big deal out of it.” Pogo entered just then with a covered tray.

 

“Out of what, Master Klaus?” Pogo asked politely and set the tray down over Klaus’s lap, extending the legs to not even risk the slight weight of the tray on Klaus’s ruined body.

 

“His fever, it dropped another degree.” Vanya answered gesturing with the thermometer that had just come out of Klaus’s mouth and was probably covered with his spit. Gross. Klaus began to wiggle himself upwards like some kind of painful worm, only more pitiful. Vanya looked like she wanted to help, hovering over him and worrying at the air with her hands. He managed to get himself more upright without assistance, still fully supported though, sitting up un supported was uncharted territory at this point. Though he had managed to lift his own head for a full 15 seconds yesterday. Yay.

 

“That _is_ good news, perhaps we can take the chest tube out tomorrow.” Pogo looked down at Klaus who seemed to perk up at that. Good hand (with just a splint rather than a bulky cast, because he had to use at least one hand damn it) going gingerly to the tube in his side.

 

“Really?”

 

“We will have to see, I think you might be past the danger of pneumonia now, I still am not sure I would like to risk it.” Klaus nodded as Pogo uncovered the tray to revel a bowl of broth, “Although perhaps we should get you eating solid foods before we make that call.” Pogo mused Klaus nodded to the first part of the statement.

 

“I think your right, I don’t really feel like I’m getting sicker. Doesn’t feel like pneumonia.” Klaus gripped the spoon as the others watched him hesitantly, as if this was the next blockbuster horror film rather than Klaus trying to hold a spoon that was made for infants; his ability to eat on his own had been a bit touchy lately.

 

“Do you remember what pneumonia feels like?” Pogo asked reaching out to steady his hand by the elbow when he almost lost control of the spoon.

 

“Yeah. I think that last time I had it was…. Ben?”

 

“It was six months ago, and then only two months before that, and that time you had it for almost a month and didn’t go in…”

 

“Right, six months.” He said setting the spoon aside after about 4 spoonful’s and earning a severe look from Pogo who scooped it up again and held it out in front of Klaus.

 

“How many times did you have pneumonia when you were on the streets?” Diego said from the door drawing all the eyes in the room to him, Klaus startled a bit hand going for his ribs when he felt a twitch of pain there. Well, he felt a twitch of pain everywhere, his ribs were most accessible.

 

“Jesus. Hi Diego. You should wear a bell.” Klaus tried to joke his way out of the conversation.

 

“How many times Klaus.” Diego moved closer his hair was wet, it must be raining.

 

“Is it raining? I love the rain. Well, I used to. I had to sleep outside in the rain a few times that sort of killed it for me.” Oh oops that wasn’t going to steer him away from the topic at all he searched the thick sludge he called a brain for something to change the topic, coming up predictably empty handed.

 

“How. Many. Times.” Diego was standing right next to him now. Looming. Normally Luther was the loomer of the family but lo and behold Diego could do it too. Klaus shrunk back into his pillows, forcing himself to sink deeper into his nest, to give it every chance of swallowing him. Hand somehow finding his tags to rub at. He suddenly didn’t like being on the floor, didn’t like his comfortable nest his siblings had built for him–no not when Andr- _Diego_ was looming over him like that.

 

“A couple.” He whispered. He tried to remind himself that he wasn’t in the basement, wasn’t lying on _that_ floor. He wasn’t even really on any floor he was on a mattress. It was thoughtful of his siblings. To put him here and not in the infirmary. He was comfortable here. Happy here. Safe here.

 

Comfortable.

 

Happy.

 

Safe.

 

He repeated the words in his head like a mantra, a prayer. ComfortableHappySafe. His eyes squeezed closed as every tendon in his body pulled itself rigid.

 

“Hey.” It was Diego again, but softer and from somewhere more level with Klaus’s head. ComfortableHappySafe. His eyes opened and he let his abused muscles relax forced them to relax, they hurt, the traitors. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so angry.”

 

“No. It’s just that… he used to stand over me like that a lot before… while he was…” Klaus took a deep breath followed by a little cough. ComfortableHappySafe. He had to rangle his damn lungs into submission. They hadn’t really talked about Andrew much beyond that day. Diego nodded and then swallowed; he was squatting next to Klaus’s bed now and he tipped himself back so he was sitting on the floor. Klaus hesitated and then went on, voice even softer now, “Dad did it too.”

 

“Do you get pneumonia a lot?” Vanya asked curiously after a moment Klaus leaned back tipping his cheek into his good shoulder and nodded slightly, letting his hand go limp in his lap, tags letting out a soft jangle as they too settled. And if a single tear escaped its way down his cheek, well what did it matter anyways? Pogo sighed and set the tray aside with a clank, giving up on it for now. Diego hummed and looked thoughtful.

 

“Klaus,” He started looking like he was choosing and picturing his words carefully. “Did you ever wonder, why you got sick so much as a kid?” Klaus glanced at him and shrugged slightly, lifting his head up and down with his shoulder in the process. Diego pursed his lips and nodded. “Okay, well when you’re a bit better I think we ought to figure that out.” He turned slighting to Pogo who was checking on Klaus’s monitors and he nodded idly. Diego wondered if Pogo had ever tried to convince their father to look into Klaus’s seemingly fragile health before. Klaus shrugged again and shut his eyes. “Are you going to sleep?” Diego asked. Klaus nodded. “I just got here!” Klaus shrugged again. “Okay buddy go to sleep.” Klaus nodded, and then nodded off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you all are :) a good dose of Fluff! Right off the bat there is going to be a lot with Klaus and care-taking and his health. Then I should be getting to the plot who knows who knows I just sort of write and see where it takes me. Plans are for pussies. Now the chunks for this story are a bit longer so I might update less often, also I'm hella busy. Another thing is that I noticed that this got marked as a one-shot right off the bat which is WRONG so sorry about that. 
> 
> I'm going to experiment with chapter names for this one. 
> 
> Did anyone catch the references in the fist chapter of this? points to anyone who caught both! 
> 
> Also I have been watching Misfits lately (has Robbert Sheenan in it) and it's sooooo goood! not a lot of fan fic for it though ;/ Rob's character in it is basically a younger Klaus. Once I finish it I think its going to make me watch Umbrella Academy again which will make me want to write more of this so that's a good thing I guess.


	3. Wake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus wakes up alone...

When Klaus woke again he was alone…No that wasn’t quite right but it was dark save for the fairy lights that now webbed their way about the frame of the loft in the living room. They really added a homey touch, they should leave them there even after he didn’t need them as a nightlight any longer, they should add touches of warmth everywhere. This wasn’t Reginald’s house anymore. It was theirs. He could hear faint snoring to his left and saw Luther conked out on the floor next to the mattress. His huge arms flopped out and across him, looking to all the world like a fallen tree. Next to him was a plastic shopping bag containing something small and blue and fuzzy. Klaus tried to turn his head in a way that allowed him to peek at what he was certain was for him, but couldn’t move enough to get a good look. He had been re-settled sometime in his sleep so that he was more vertical rather than the upright position he had been propped in previously. Perhaps they really had ruled out pneumonia as an option then, he chanced it and took a deep breath to test the theory and ended up feeling a catch in his lungs and losing himself to a coughing fit. Thankfully the fit dissipated on its own, because none of his siblings were roused even slightly from where they were strewn like dolls after playtime about the living room, limbs all sticking out at various angles. Vanya was face-planted on to couch looking as if she had been sitting there and simply fallen sideways, she was holding a hideous throw pillow to her chest like it was a teddy bear. Five had curled himself into the tightest ball possible, the only extrusion from his sphere was his small hand extended into the beyond to hold onto the hand of Dolores who was set up on the end table next to Five’s chair, she almost looked like she was watching over all of them sleep, she was aimed mainly at Klaus, which was odd she normally only looked at Five, Klaus took it as a sign of love and concern from his brother rather than as a creepy mannequin staring him down. Everyone was asleep, save for him and Dolores it seemed. Which was ok, his siblings deserved the rest that he had so selfishly been taking, they needed it too. Playing nursemaids to someone like him had to be taxing.

 

Klaus coughed again wincing as he did so which lead into feverish shiver. Huh. He really had thought he had been getting better but he actually felt worse now. He reached up blindly with his good arm to tuck the quilt further around his shoulders, shaking away another shiver with a sort of huffed out groan, barely audible more an emoting of air than a noise, it lead to a small and isolated cough.

 

No.

 

He was getting _better_ god damn it. He squeezed his eyes shut and tears picked up at their corners. If he didn’t get better soon he wouldn’t be able to try and conjure Dave again, and that was all he wanted was to see Dave. To see him somewhere other than his nightmares, see him in some other situation besides his body going cold every time Klaus closed his eyes. The truth was he wanted to see Dave, but all he saw was Dave, everywhere. He didn’t want to just see him, he wanted to touch him, to have Dave carefully climb into bed with him and be there with his steady warm chest to hold him while he cried. He fiddled with his dog tags and tried not to hope the noise they made would wake one of his siblings up. Klaus hated being alone. Even the ghosts were better than silence, silence was something Klaus didn’t like, he tried to huff out air in the sake of his usual dramatics but ended up coughing again, he pressed his face into the blanket firmly and looked around again, biting down on the blanket to quiet his damn cough. None of his siblings woke at the sound, he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

 

“That sounds much worse than it did earlier.” Ah, company had arrived. Ben. Klaus shrugged and shook his head not sure he wanted to speak just yet. “You told Pogo that you thought you were out of the pneumonia woods.” Ben observed from what had become his usual spot sitting up on the back of the couch. He crossed his arms, the picture of disappointment. Which was unfair, Klaus hadn’t intentionally lied to Pogo earlier, he had felt better, plus he wasn’t a complete dumb-ass, he wouldn’t lie to Pogo about something like that.

 

“Yeah… and?” Klaus said too quiet to even be a whisper. It didn’t matter Ben heard it. Ben always heard, sometimes Klaus swore Ben could hear him think, that they were that severely tethered.

 

“I don’t think that’s strictly true.” Ben said after a moment.

 

“Whatever.” Ben snorted and shook his head.

 

“Tell _me_ the truth, are you feeling better?”

 

“I was.” Klaus half answered.

 

“And now?” Klaus gave a lazy one shouldered shrug. And started to experiment with shifting around, strangling out a gasp when a shot of fire went down past his kneecap and to his left pinkie toe. He froze and as usually acted against all judgement and sense and tried to move the toe. He strangled off a gasping sort of cough noise and Ben rose hesitantly looking form Klaus to a few of the siblings as if he had the power to rouse them.

 

“What’s wrong?” Ben said seriously, voice thick and wet with concern.

 

“Foot.”

 

“You can feel it?”

 

“Maybe a little?”

 

“Klaus, you have to wake someone up!” Ben came closer so he was standing in the bed now, his ankles disappeared as if he were wading in a shallow pool of water. “Jesus, look at you your fever is back up, wake someone up!” Klaus shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, his vision was swimming anyways, the heat and electricity and stinging in his foot grew and as if Ben could feel it too (could he? They were tethered) Ben began to scream looking from sibling to sibling in the hopes that he could shout through the veil and get them to wake. It didn’t matter much in the end because Klaus slumped off to the side at an awkward angle and was returned to nightmares by the sweet sting of passing out from pain. Ben swore at the room that was so full and yet so empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are a bit longer and it makes me nervous! I don't want you to catch up to me! 
> 
> Also on this series overall (it's all one big word doc on my laptop) I have just hit 30,000 words! my 30,000th word was 'seconds' 
> 
>  
> 
> I'm low-key debating posting every-other day I dunno at the same time I like waking up to your comments and kudos so I could go either way. These chunks have ended up longer, so I am less chapters ahead than normal, like only 2 more chunks before you get to where I am in my writing now, which isn't so bad. 
> 
> A lot of you expressed interest in Klaus's health which I was honestly not expecting I put it in purely because I like the idea. Honestly this whole fic is just me fanserviceing myself. I'm glad you are all enjoying it! 
> 
> I read every comment and respond to most of them, sometimes with long winded explanations of how I view things. it really makes my heart sing to see people interacting with something I made. Also there is a weird thing sometimes when you guys think more about a thing than I did. and I'm like oh shit did I do that on purpose? My writing style has always been a bit of a embarrassment to me, I always thought it was weird or wordy and confusing, I gave up writing in like the 9th grade, I didn't think anyone liked it or understood a word I said, I still don't one of the most common things I say is 'am I making sense' and people always say yes but deep down I think I'm full of nonsense. Anyways it has been really encouraging to see people actually like and understand my writing again. /emotional rant 
> 
> ANYWAYS.


	4. Sun Salutations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego wakes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry it's been a minute!

A dew chilled sunrise filled the room, as Diego woke he rolled his weight from one hip to the other and stretched out his limbs, fingers and toes wide. He rolled lightly to his hands and knees. Positioned on the couch that he had claimed as a bed the night before he had a good view of all his siblings. He arched his back like a cat, even yawning like one. He let his eyes laze about the room at his snoozing siblings scattered about the room and debated rolling over and dozing off again, curled in the spots of rising sun that would soon begin to dance across the room. His eyes glazed idly across the form of Klaus’s nest of pillows as he moved his gaze from sibling to sibling looking for something alarming that needed his attention. Allison wasn’t still lounging in the chair she had been in when he had fallen asleep last night, she must have gone to shower or to get dressed. Or both.

 

 Glancing to the pillow nest last it occurred to him that he should bring it up to the others that they should replace some of the old stuffy couches with more pillow nests like the one they had built for Klaus. He was certain they would all enjoy one, more so than these awful couches. He would certainly love to curl up in his own warmth surrounded by a grounding nest of comfort. Plus, they should start to remove the overwhelming feeling Reginald still imposed onto the house. Make it into a home. He finished his survey of his sleeping family with Klaus and scrambled himself onto his feet immediately.

 

Klaus was in a different position than Diego had left him, which was alarming enough the fact that it was not a position that another sibling would have left him in was more so. This could only mean that Klaus had woken in the middle of the night and tried to adjust himself, but why? Just after Klaus had dozed off Diego had shifted him to be more vertical, to make his sleep more comfortable. Klaus was now slightly more upright, but listing horribly off to the side, bending severely and suddenly off to the side just below his ribs. The angle was so extrme and worrying Diego wondered for a spit second if Klaus had somehow broken his spine in the middle of the night. He ended up concluding, that no, not even Klaus could manage a feet of self destruction that extreme. Bent at this angle and skinny as he was Diego could make out all of Klaus’s ribs. One of them probably needed to be reset, it looked a bit crooked. He took a step forward and almost fell directly on to his poorly brother when his foot hit another much larger, hairier sibling. Luckily, Diego not only resembled a cat when he was stretching, or he would have landed his full weight on his brother’s delicate and barely healing form.

 

 Luther was conked out on the floor by the mattress, in his sleep he was cuddling a stuffed dinosaur that was not quite out of its plastic bag yet. So, he had finally given up on the farm theme then. Luther grunted when Diego’s foot hit him, but otherwise he made no indication he intended to wake. Luther was a heavier sleeper than he was… well heavy. It would take some serious work to get him up, and even then it was possible that he would be stubborn and remain asleep. The bastard, how he managed to retain being such a heavy sleeper with their childhood baffled Diego, the rest of them were extremely light sleepers, waking at a single drop of rain. Waking the snoring ape was not Diego’s priority now, Klaus was. He stepped lightly over Luther and came to his knees on the side of the mattress to get a better look at his smaller, paler brother. Klaus was still wearing one of Luther’s shirts, a soft flannel patterned in red and black plaid that Diego had never once seen Luther wear. It was open in the front to make access to his chest easier. The old quilt from Klaus’s room that Vanya had found was still wrapped around Klaus like a cape, though whenever he had shifted it had fallen from his right shoulder taking the flannel with it to reveal the pale carved bone of Klaus’s shoulder. Diego reached out to tuck the blanket and shirt back in place, it was getting colder out and the manor was drafty, the last thing they needed was for Klaus to catch a cold just when he was starting to get over whatever bug he had picked up in that stupid basement. As soon as his hand brushed the pale skin his heart sank. Klaus’s fever was definitely coming back with a vengeance. He tucked the blanket back tightly and swore. Looking around at his siblings debating who to wake to help him get Klaus upright, and who to wake to send for Pogo and Mom. He quickly met a curious pair of brown eyes from the other couch. Vanya.

 

“What’s wrong?” She straightened herself setting the pillow she had been curled around neatly off to the side and rising to come down lightly on the other side of the bed. She reached out to smooth out Klaus’s chronically mussed hair, “oh.” She said feeling the returning heat there before she even made contact.

 

“Yeah.” Diego said, not sure what else there was to say. Klaus tried to shift in his sleep but ended up moaning lightly and coughing, sputtering out a broken desperate word;

 

“Dave?” his head flopped over to his other shoulder, which was the injured one. Vanya reached her hand out to shift the weight of his head back on to the pillows. Diego slipped his hand behind his brother and inched him upwards to a more comfortable, less severe angle. They were silent for a while. Both knowing what had to be done; they had to wake the rest of the family, find Pogo and re-asses the situation. They both made no movement to start the process, choosing to sit and watch Klaus breathe for a while longer. Klaus’s head was now tipped back slightly on the pillows lips parted slightly to take each wheezy rough breath, his Adams apple overly defined on his thin pal throat, shadowed by still healing dark bruises. Diego swallowed and opened his mouth to break the heavy silence.

 

“I wish I could go back and get him.” Five spoke quietly from his chair looking out over the room, holding more emotion in his sleep thick voice then was normal for him. During the night he had slumped so his chin now almost rested on his chest.

 

“Who?” Diego asked, Five’s voice had thrust him into action and he busied himself by tucking more blankets back into place tightly around Klaus.

 

“Dave.” Five said, seeming to be confused as to how Diego didn’t know what he was talking about. Diego looked at the dog tags that were still around Klaus’s neck resting just below his heart.  

 

“Who even is Dave? He talks about him all the time… but I’ve been too scared to ask” Vanya asked standing to stretch, and picking up the tray Pogo had left at the bedside last night, still mostly full of cold soup. Diego shrugged, feeling similar, he didn’t know much about Dave either.

 

“His boyfriend. After Hazel and Cha-Cha took him he accidently got sent back in time to Nam’ from what I understand, Dave was the reason he stayed until… Dave was gone.” Vanya nodded understandingly, even though Diego knew there was no way she fully understood what it was Five was saying, unless she knew something he didn’t.

 

“I’m going to the kitchen to try and find Mom, anyone need anything?” Vanya asked.

 

“Coffee.” Five said standing and placing Dolores down on the chair he had just vacated. For claiming to love her he used her to save his seat very often. He knew none of his siblings dared touch her.

 

“Yes, same here please, if you don’t mind.” Diego said as politely as he could manage settling himself on the edge of the mattress and kicking Luther several times as he got comfortable. They were all making an attempt to be politer to Vanya, well Five wasn’t but he wasn’t polite to anyone so it didn’t really seem to matter. Vanya nodded giving him a small smile and moved in the direction of the kitchen. Stopping behind the head of the mattress to look down the length of the room.

 

“You know,” She said after a moment, “I bet we could put a projector in here and watch a movie.” Diego raised his eyebrows but nodded.

 

“Yeah, I was thinking we should try and make it a bit less…. stuffy in here.” She nodded enthusiastically.

 

“Yeah, if Klaus doesn’t want to move them to his room we should leave the lights up, I think they look nice.” Diego nodded thoughtfully. None of them had really done much thinking about what would happen once Klaus was able to be moved from the living room floor. It felt nice to think about it even in the wake of the setback his fever was sure to cause. Allison chose that moment to appear at the door, she was dressed casually in leggings and a loosely fit top, so it didn’t seem that she planned on leaving the house today, she still managed to look run-way ready though. She had with her a bin of nail-polish which she set down on a small table just inside the living room.

 

“Finally getting up I see.” She greeted. Diego huffed holding back a comment on how late Allison had been prone to sleeping in when they were 16, she had always gotten away with it though, _I heard a rumor you let me sleep in._  

 

“It’s not even ten!” Diego chose to say instead, best not bring up childhood trauma this early. She snorted and came further into the room. “I thought you already did his nails?” Diego reached for Klaus’s hand and sure enough hot pink polish was splashed pristinely across all five of his fingers.

 

“Well, yes. But I was talking to mom and she says she needs to check his foot today,” She paused to lick her lips nervously, “So I thought maybe at the same time I could paint the nails on his other foot… or something.” Distract him. Diego nodded, it was a good idea. His eyes shifted to the lump that was Klaus’s left foot. Had it moved too? That couldn’t be right. Vanya made her way over to Allison,

 

“I was going to go see about breakfast.” She said to fill the silence. Allison nodded and the two girls began to head to the kitchen together.

 

“Don’t forget coffee!” Five called after them which earned him a middle finger from Allison and a ‘ok we won’t!’ from Vanya.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO SORRY that I made you wait, I got swallowed by tech week and just kept getting home and collapsing! Ask ay theater kid you know tech week is exhausting, so I'm not going to have consistent posting for like 2ish weeks because it goes Tech -> Show -> Packing up -> moving out -> travel -> Home from there I should have a week or two where I'm consistent but then I have 2 weeks where I'm away and stuff again so bear with me!! 
> 
> Anyways the chapters are coming out much longer for this one, this is almost 2,000 words! So hopefully that will make the gaps easier. 
> 
> I should also say that the nesting Diego suggests and the pillow nest Klaus has in general is based off of me and how I set up my bed / room, also Diego being catlike is kinda how I wake up too so do with that what you wish.


	5. Klaus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had to google what color Grace's eyes are but I kind of ignored it because I wanted them to be blue :/

“Well you children certainly are right.” Grace said pulling her hand gently away from Klaus’s face, using her thumb to remove some droll that had collected at the corner of his open mouth. “His fever has gone up again.” She tutted and shook her head sadly, digital blue eyes raising to meet Pogo’s where he stood near the end of the bed. Diego stood behind her peering over her shoulder at Klaus.

 

“So? What does this mean? Why is he getting sicker all of a sudden? Did we miss something? Did an infection spread? What’s wrong with him? How do we fix it? What do we do?” Diego’s mind was running a million miles a minute, he was too anxious about his brother, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something horrible wrong that they hadn’t caught. Grace let out a small found laugh and turned to him as Pogo bent down to pull the covers off of Klaus’s feet to get a look at the dressings that were there, the siblings gave him a wide berth, they were too focused on their mother to see him frown and drop to his old tired knees to get a closer look.

 

“What is wrong dear is that he is still very weak, still healing. We should double check everything to make sure; we still have to change his bandages today anyhow, but as long as we keep a careful eye on him and make sure he’s resting comfortably and getting his fluids he should be better before you know it,” she turned to Pogo, “Though, I think that we should up his anti-biotics just to be safe.”

 

“Yes,” Pogo said thoughtfully, “And we need to do something else to numb this foot. The nerve blocker has stopped working.” Pogo folded the blankets back leaving Klaus’s feet exposed and pulled himself back to his feet.

 

“What?” Allison said breaking away from Luther’s elbow to take a step towards Pogo.

 

“There’s blood on the bandages, he must have regained some feeling in his foot and moved it a bit, I would guess he passed out from the pain and that’s why you found him like that this morning.” Diego gulped, swallowing back sudden nausea. He didn’t want to think about having to feel something that horrible. To think of _Klaus_ having to feel something so horrible, _Klaus_ who was so goddamn tiny, _Klaus_ who despite himself despite all the shit he’s seen and been through still retained a childlike innocence and wonder about him, _Klaus_ who managed to smile and crack a wildly inappropriate joke just at the exact moment they all needed it. That Klaus had been put through pain Diego couldn’t even fathom, and he couldn’t stomach that. Logically he knew that Klaus had to have felt it when it had been done to him. But the thought of Klaus feeling that kind of pain, again, here where he was supposed to be safe. Where he was supposed to be protected. Luther’s head dropped as he went through the same thoughts as Diego and he turned away, hiding his face. Ashamed that he could not protect Klaus, his big hand gripped the dinosaur tight.

 

“Diego dear, what’s wrong? You look a bit pale.” Grace rose from her station next to Klaus and put her delicate hand on Diego’s cheek. Diego shook it off.

 

“I’m okay. It’s just that- just that- just - Klaus.” Grace nodded understandingly and turned back to Klaus who, ever a dramatic ass bitch chose that moment to gasp and try to sit up a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright there you go! I very nearly posted the next chapter here instead because I got confused about where I had gotten in posting. that would have been a big oops


	6. Mrragh?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus wakes up... sort of...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit balls it's been awhile I did not mean to do that! I got so caught up in the play! it opens tomorrow!! I haven't had the energy to write so I haven't posted what I have I'm not going to write more tonight so I'm shortening my cushion but I wanted to give you all something!

Klaus swam into consciousness slowly, opening his eyes to a blurry room with shapes he vaguely recognized. He had to force a breath inward, and with the swell of air felt a burning below his feet, he tried his best to force himself away from the burning but it followed him. He tried to blink away the blurriness with minimal success. He heard his name, and then again, and again, he focused on the voice- no voices, Ben and… Diego? Their voices melded together to create a harmonizing tone calling out to him, chasing away the blurriness in his vison but not the burning in his feet- no- foot.

 

“Klaus? Can you hear me darling?” Grace. Mom. He always loved Mom, he used to wish she was a real person, really his mother, over the years this fell away into a truth that they all knew and accepted. She was the closest they would ever have to a mother or even to a real and proper father. She was kind and loved them more than any other person had ever bothered to.

 

She didn’t need to be human to be real to them, real enough to kiss them goodnight, real enough to hold them tight, and real enough to make them feel they were loved. It was all they had. They all loved Mom in their own ways, Diego loved her as her mamma’s boy, Vanya loved her as a companion and friend, Klaus had always had his own special relationship with her. She used to let him try on her dresses and shoes when Reginald was away, she taught him how to waltz and always snuck him a spoon of raw cookie dough. She had kissed him goodnight until he left the Academy at 17 and had never - to his knowledge - told the others that he hadn’t ever asked her to stop. She always seemed proud of him even when he had nothing to be proud of.

 

“Sweetheart?” Klaus felt a tiny jolt in his heart. The only thing wrong with Mom is that she used a lot of the same pet names that Dave had. He should tell her, she would change it, he knew she would without question. He just had to tell her. He tried, oh boy did he try but he just managed a gurgle mixed with a groan.

 

“Mrragh?” She hummed pleasantly and Klaus wanted nothing more than to drag his ruined body into her voice and stay there. She said something that was too quick for him to catch, all he heard was garbling, like she was underwater. There was a moment of scrambling panic where he thought she might short-circuit and then he remembered that she was water proof. There was more garbling and she answered again in her own garbled tone, the conversation sounded a bit like the adults in the Simpsons… or was it walnuts? The one with Charlie Brown and the dog that lived in the toaster. Those adults. Wah-waw.

 

Her voice came back into focus and he could feel her hand in his.

 

“Klaus, I need you to squeeze my hand if you can hear me, just a little bit ok?” he did tightening his fingers as much as he could, “Okay good. Squeeze again if you’re in pain.” He hesitated and then decided not to lie and tightened his fingers. “Alright, one more alright Baby? Squeeze if it’s your foot.” Klaus didn’t need any clarification to know he had to squeeze again. There was more gurgling, this time with a few different tones from different angles around him, different gurgler’s he supposed. Mom came back from the chorus of gurgles. “Ok sweetie we’re going to numb your foot again now, it’s going hurt a bit at first but it will feel better I promise.” Klaus squeezed his fingers again, he trusted her.

 

Below his knee he felt a pinch then there was cold fire flickering down through his veins chasing out the hot stinging fire. He made a low sort of complaint noise and then something snapped and he could no longer feel anything below his knee. The transition was too jarring and he felt himself return to blackness for a moment. Before falling under, he wondered briefly if they had cut his foot off, and then began to wonder if he even cared much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If its not obvious I was talking about snoopy/peanuts/Charlie brown. I always thought his house looked like a toaster IDK why. 
> 
> It should be a bit before I get the chance to write more, I have some time tomorrow and Saturday I don't want to shorten my cushion any more so I have to write at least 1000 words before I post again. I realize this is a bad cliff hanger and I'm even a little sorry this time. I also hope the story isn't getting to be too predictable or repetitive, IDK I write what I like to read. Some of you have been guessing in the comments what I'm planning and I have to say some of you are on to something and some of you have inspired me! 
> 
> I also don't have a reason the nerve blocker stopped working. Sorry.


	7. Stupid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a minute but here you are!

They actually hadn’t amputated his leg, they had just tried something else for numbing, a special concoction of Pogo’s that he thought might be more effective. It was and, Klaus swam up from the blackness a few seconds later and managed to focus more clearly on images and sounds this time. Diego was hovering behind Grace who was kneeling neatly next to him and still holding his hand, the rest of his siblings were bunched together standing around the bed as well, all looking nervous. Pogo was knelt by his feet empty syringe in hand. Luther was holding a stuffed blue dinosaur by its long neck, Klaus chose to focus on that feeling a desperate need to break the heavy air.

 

“Is that for me?” he asked eyes tipping up to meet Luther’s. Luther started a bit when he realized he was being addressed. The air lightened a bit and everyone relaxed Allison drifted away from Luther over to Vanya. Luther looked at the Dinosaur in his hand.

 

“Oh- uh yeah.” He set the toy down on one of the pillows so it was looking at Klaus. It had a long neck and a cartoony smile, Klaus pictured little green leaves being munched at the corner of the embroidered grin. Klaus smiled at Luther who smiled back slightly. Klaus glanced around at his siblings, still not fond of the lingering tension.

 

“So- uh” he began hoping he would come up with something to say along the way, he didn’t have to, Vanya cut him off.

 

“Why didn’t you tell someone what was going on with your foot!?” she sounded so distressed, everyone looked from her to Klaus, there were quick nods and small exclamations of agreement. Ben let out a snort from his perch on the couch, his legs were stuck straight out on the seat of the couch in front of him and his ankles were crossed as were his arms. Klaus wanted to glare at him, but he couldn’t, not when Vanya sounded so upset, like she might actually cry and he was beginning to feel bad about just letting himself pass out from pain. It had seemed like the easiest option at the time. He must have started to look guilty because Ben actually laughed at him.

 

“I uh- didn’t want to wake you up?” it wasn’t a question but it came out that way, like he was willing to offer a whole slew of explanations if they didn’t accept this one. Allison sighed seating herself on the couch, she sounded genuinely sympathetic rather than annoyed, which was not what he wanted exactly, but was probably one of the better reactions he could have gotten, everyone else looked a bit annoyed. Except Vanya who just looked sad. Five looked downright livid, Luther looked annoyed but like he was trying and failing to logic his way through Klaus’s reasoning, which was ultimately unnecessary if Klaus had been going to wake up a sibling it would not have been Luther. It would have probably been Diego who looked undecided, but was leaning heavily towards annoyed, he was trying to hide it and doing a bad job though. Klaus opened his mouth again but Grace managed to get a word in first.

 

“Well dear if you are in any pain you should ask for help, we want to make your recovery as comfortable as we can, it is not advisable or healthy to suffer needlessly.” She admonished placing her cool hand against his cheek. He rolled his head into her palm to look into her kind perpetually smiling eyes.

 

“Yeah, it was also really really stupid” Five added summing up Grace’s advice in his own words.

 

“Five!” Luther was mortified. Klaus snorted a bit and let out a cough, he actually enjoyed Five’s rudeness, not that he didn’t like the softness Luther was showing him, it was nice to see that side of Luther, it reminded him pleasantly of Dave, who had always been so sweet and so caring.  He needed that. But he also needed Five’s rudeness, which reminded him of Dave in a completely different way, Dave who had been a complete sweetheart and a total Ass-hole at the same time. God, he loved Dave.

 

He tried to clear his throat again to give Five a sarcastic comment, which would hopefully work out the last wisps of tension that lingered in the air, but all he got was another cough. And then another one, and another, the coughs pushed painfully on his ribs and lurched him foreword violently, he wished he could curl up into a ball but his body wouldn’t let him yet. Leaving him lurching forward painfully while he spluttered for air.

 

Grace’s strong competent hands moved to support him, and she produced a basin to place under his chin as he struggled to dislodge to cement in his lungs, he was all out crying now, numerous hands of his siblings came to rub at his back, he could feel Luther’s large warm hand holding his elbow to support him. Finally with a final cough he ejected a ball of mucus and slumped back into his pillows. Curling himself as much as he could manage to his right side around the pillow laid lengthwise there to keep him upright, hugging it between his shoulder and his head to catch the tears still openly falling. A hand appeared – Diego and helped him to hold the oxygen mask to his face as he wheezed. There were hands in his hair and on his shoulders and back, rubbing gently. He held the mask as firmly as he could to his face and Diego pulled away, Klaus wanted to cry out, but he didn’t have the air, he let the mask drop and grabbed Diego’s forearm pulling him closer, hoping his brother would understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whooo the show is finally done and it went well! now I just need to finish my classes and move out of my dorm, I finally had time to write and was worried I would face block form having to take a break but nope! I even came up with a great idea for keeping the story on track!! yay!!


	8. Dave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus (finally) gets a cuddle

It was jarring and scary how quickly Klaus went from is usual joking self to coughing until he cried. Luther managed to grab his elbow to support him and the rest of them provided whatever comfort they could, whispering soothingly to him hoping he could hear them over the horrible coughing. Klaus managed to dislodge something and spit it into the basin provided by Grace who whisked it away just as quickly as it had come. Klaus collapsed into his pillows and curled like a comma onto his less injured side. Luther took a step back, releasing his elbow, unsure of himself now that he did not have an established task. Diego took the oxygen mask from Pogo and helped Klaus hold it to his face, they had removed the nasal cannula the day before, but thank god, they hadn’t moved the oxygen machine back to the infirmary. Diego went to let go and sit back, satisfied that Klaus had the mask. Klaus immediately proved him wrong by dropping the mask and an ice-cold hand shot out to grab onto Diego. Klaus’s hands were always so cold. He had a fever, his hands shouldn’t be so cold, but they were. Diego looked down at Klaus’s hand his bone-white skin throwing a horrible contrast against Diego’s own evenly toned warm skin. Klaus’s hand was pale and thin, blotched over with still healing bruising and dwarfed completely by the splint. He looked from the hand to his brother’s pleading eyes. He knew somewhat what Klaus wanted, but he was unsure if he was the right person to provide it. According to Five the right person didn’t even live in this century. Allison appeared behind Diego, kneeling next to him she gently took Klaus’s hand she placed it back on the mask and smoothly slipped into the bed beside Klaus as gently as possible bringing his head to rest on her shoulder. Wedging herself somewhat behind Klaus; not enough to jostle him much, but enough to give the feeling of another human. She shot Diego a hesitant smile, as if to say, ‘don’t worry I got this part’.

 

Diego nodded thoughtfully at her and sat back as Klaus melted in to Allison’s touch. She twisted her graceful fingers through his sweaty curls. Diego wished he could do that for his brother, but he had never been the touchy-feely type. Klaus was. Always wanting to cuddle or be held, he used to think that it was a way to get attention, but maybe it was something else. Klaus’s world was full of dead cold things that he couldn’t touch, maybe some human warmth, some living human warmth, helped him to assure himself that he was here, that he was alive.

 

“Tell me about Dave.” Diego said suddenly but softly, his voice was rough and low and earnest. Klaus didn’t freeze up or get upset, he closed his eyes gently and turned his head slightly. As one would turn their head to enjoy the sun splashing across their face. A small real smile crossed Klaus’s face, the kind of smile where you knew it was genuine because the person doing it didn’t even know that they had smiled.

 

“He was perfect.” Allison hummed to encourage him, hands still carding gently through his hair finding the clumps and knots and working them free, “He was so kind, so sweet. He didn’t care that I was weird or had freaky powers, or liked to wear makeup, or whatever, he didn’t even care that I was a fucked-up mess. I arrived on that camp mostly naked and covered in blood and piss, clutching at a briefcase and all he saw was me.” Klaus’s smile grew at the memory, “really me, a part of me I thought dad had killed a long time ago.” Allison’s gaze hardened and she glanced sharply up at Luther who didn’t even look prepared to defend his father this time, he just looked sad and sort of lost. Luther was only beginning to understand that Reginald Hargraves had put them all through hell. But none of them, not even Number 1 himself  could deny it, they all had known Klaus before and after Reginald had broken him. Klaus went on, “It was like he saw through it all, but… he still wanted me even though he could see past my bullshit. I didn’t even want me, that’s why I… The bullshit… But Dave…” Klaus trailed off a single tear finding its way down his cheek he shook his head sadly. Five watched silently from his chair eyebrows brought together and lips drawn in a hard expression. Klaus took a shaky sigh but seemed to want to go on, oxygen mask dropping completely to rest somewhere between him and Allison who had started to gently rock back and forth, watching to see if the movement caused Klaus any pain, it didn’t. “We used to talk about it, he... I told him I was from the future, I think… I think he had always known somehow… We talked about coming back here and I told him about all of you, he wanted to meet you. He was going to meet you… he just wanted to finish… and then…” Klaus hiccupped slightly and Allison fished out the mask and pressed it to his face.

 

Five opened his mouth and licked his lips in thought, his mouth moved deliberately and precisely “you… you say you can’t conjure him right?”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooooooooo I am sorry it's been a MINUTE! I had to move out of my dorm and drive home and get settled (8+ hour drive we split over 2 days) but I did not forget!! I am home now (for a week) and then it's off to DC with my sorry ass! I managed to get into the swing and write more today so you guys get a chapter. :) updates over the next oh... 3-4ish weeks might be a little all over the place. 
> 
> Also I found TUA buttons in Hot Topic and I was so so happy! They had the logo and then character buttons for Diego Allison Klaus and Five (no Luther Vanya or Ben I asked the girl and she said she didn't see any when unpacking) but hey TUA MERCH!!!!!! I bought them all!! :) I had to dig to find anyone who wasn't five, they had a lot of him. They were def from the show too! not comics!!


	9. Shiver and shake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus shivers... and then he shakes

Klaus’s big bleary green eyes opened to meet Five’s from above the mask, he nodded simply.

 

“That’s why you’ve been trying to get clean right? For him?” Klaus nodded again, watching Five carefully, Five opened his mouth and then closed it again working his jaw and then nodded, dropping the topic for now but not forever. Klaus closed his eyes seeming to wilt further into Allison and the mattress. Grace cleared her throat gently snapping the moment cleanly in half like a sheet of glass, not shattered simply cut through to move on.

 

“Children we really must change and clean your brother’s bandages. We need rule out a secondary infection. Then I think Pogo and I will take some bloodwork.” Klaus groaned and buried his head into the crook of Allison’s neck.

 

“This is going to hurt, isn’t it?” Allison smiled kissing Klaus on the top of his head before settling him back down and extracting herself, happy that he was feeling well enough to attempt to be dramatic, though it lacked his normal pizzazz. She remembered the times Klaus had been extremely ill as a child, he had become listless and pale, laid up in his bed staring at the wall as coughs had heaved at his tiny frame, she had wanted to run in and rumor him into his regular self, boisterous and loud, colorful. Klaus without color seemed so wrong, like a blank coloring page, so clearly missing something. She was beginning to think that’s what he was doing with the drugs, trying to artificially fill in what their father had killed in him. Allison had always tried to look on the bright side of things, it was her way of coping; their father was abusive but they had helped people, she was a freak with powers but she could use them to her advantage, and so on. She was begging to think even the darkness of what Andrew had done to her brother could have some light in it, if it let her brother begin to color himself in again, naturally this time, without substances. She realized after a moment that she was staring, Klaus was looking up at her with big curious eyes as her other siblings begin to clear the blankets out of the way and prepare bandages. She smiled at him, a real genuine warm smile with none of the Hollywood artifice she was so used to giving, and then dived in to help her other siblings.

 

Soon Klaus was shivering on the bed pale knees trembling to find some warmth. Diego frowned deeply trying his best to look concerned and not angry, though he had to admit the emotions felt very similar to him, he straightened out the oxygen mask on his brother’s face securing the elastic band behind his head.

 

“The less you squirm and move the quicker this will be.” Diego said hoping that it didn’t actually sound as much like an order as it seemed, he had tried to make it more soothing, comforting. Klaus winced so he must have been unsuccessful.

 

“I’m cooooooollllld.” Klaus whined flapping his shirt sleeve around, it had slipped over his hand and he had no good way of fixing it given his somewhat limited mobility, and quite frankly he preferred to slap lightly at his siblings with it. Diego grunted and looked to his mother for direction. Grace was already working on a gash on Klaus’s hip, the stitches in it were clean and even and precise. Diego’s stomach flipped when he remembered who had stitched the wound. He moved as gently but quickly as he could to undress another wound that Andrew had dealt with running his eyes along the gash looking for something – anything that could have been done to the wound to cause more harm, to explain the sudden return of the extreme and horrible heat that poured off of Klaus. He began the process of cleaning the wound again he had just touched it, barely making contact between gauze and skin when Klaus gave a horrible flinch. A lurch upward, Diego drew back uncertain but sorry that he had caused Klaus pain.

 

Klaus was staring off at nothing all the other siblings had drawn back from their work several of his more serious wounds lay open now.  Pogo had his hand on the edge of the bandage on his foot, ready to unwrap. This could be nothing; Klaus starred at nothing all the time, from their point of view; mostly just at Ben or other people they couldn’t see. But this time the energy was different. His eyes weren’t focused on anything visible or otherwise and were glazed with more than just fever. Then suddenly his eyes began to move, back and forth back and forth like he was spinning. Diego looked from his siblings to Klaus to their mother as Klaus’s breathing got more and more erratic.

 

“Hands off. Everyone step away.” Grace was calm, no emotion entered her voice, it was a backup in her programing; in an active medical emergency, her emotion center was cut off so she could work more efficiently. Klaus’s body lurched one way and then the other, muscles seeming to tighten and let go and then tighten and let go. Grace sat back and watched face a mask of indifference. Diego swore he could see sadness and concern flicker behind her eyes, but it might have been a trick of the light.

 

 The fit went on for another thirty or so seconds before Klaus stilled eyes falling to a close. Grace’s hand came to his neck for a pulse, eyes flickering efficiently over the monitors which were only now starting to calm their storm of alerts. Klaus blinked his eyes open slowly and then closed them again firmly. His breathing sounded labored and uneven. He took a sharp breath and opened his eyes focusing on a spot above the couch.

 

“You had a seizure, looked like.”  Ben said sounding scared and shaken. Klaus nodded, it wasn’t surprising, it wasn’t even his first seizure, sometimes he had them during detox. Ben always reacted badly to them. Klaus was always too tired or busy trying to get his next high to ask him why he was so upset by something that was fairly common for junkies, he had seen several of his friends get detox seizures. What Ben didn’t tell him, couldn’t tell him was that as a ghost he could see that when Klaus seized his soul shifted around and pulled away from his body shifting and pulling away, it reminded him of a bad effect that he had seen on some British show Klaus used to make him watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the show Ben talks about at the end is Misfits and the effect was the one that they used when Simon would become invisible. It as the exact effect I was thinking of and I liked the reference :) I originally had something about 'a bad effect in a TV drama' but it wasn't clear enough, then I thought about putting something about Klaus making Ben watch it because One of the characters looked like him but i couldn't get the phrasing right :/ 
> 
>  
> 
> I know a lot of you were excited about the Dave thing and I felt bad because I dropped the topic so quick... sometimes I don't have control over where things go they just go i know that might seem odd because I am the writer ... Also Five plans... he's not falling behind or running late.... not standing still.... he is lying in wait...... ;) 
> 
>  
> 
> <3 thank you all for your patience as i try and establish a schedule for myself which will change in less than a week when I go to DC


	10. yourfaultyourfualtyourfaultidotdumbassjukieitsyourfaultyourwholefamilyhatesyou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> have some angst it's good for you!

“He had a what?” Diego growled, Diego was most definitely the (living) sibling that Klaus considered himself the closest to. But, dang he did not understand that boy’s emotional process sometimes. It seemed like he always defaulted to anger, Klaus really wished he would choose another emotion, anger and the yelling that so often followed pulled at Klaus’s insides like a bad burrito, tugging at his brain and screaming; yourfaultyourfualtyourfaultidotdumbassjukieitsyourfaultyourwholefamilyhatesyou. Klaus knew it was stupid to think that Diego was mad at him for having a seizure, but Klaus could never be sure with his family. Maybe he was mad at Klaus because he was a former drug user and would soon blame him for doing this to himself. He really hoped he didn’t. That seizure had _hurt_ pulling on his just healing body like that, and Klaus didn’t think he had the emotional or physical energy to deal with Diego’s bullshit right now.

 

“A seizure Diego dear.” Grace said soothingly, though Klaus was unsure who she was trying to soothe; Klaus himself or Diego. It seemed vaguely unfair that Diego needed to be comforted, Klaus was the one who had just had the seizure after all. Grace’s hand moved from his pulse point on his neck to his upper arm. “Klaus honey? Can you hear me?” Klaus took a breath in noting that the oxygen mask must have slipped from his face sometime during the seizure.

 

“Ye- Yeah Mom. I hear you.” Klaus had closed his eyes at some point between Ben telling him what had happened and Grace informing the rest of the group. He didn’t much feel like re-opening them.

 

“Good, that’s very good dear, now it looks like you had a seizure. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes- I- Uh, I’ve- well - had them before.” Unseen by Klaus or his siblings, whose eyes were locked on their brother laying with his wounds still exposed on the mattress, Pogo furrowed his brow concentrating on what Klaus was saying.

 

“You remember those?” Pogo said drawing the attention of the room to himself, Grace looked at him with mild surprise, her programing still forcing her to keep Reginald’s secrets, Pogo would have to update that, and soon. He had no intention of keeping any promises he may have made to Reginald after what had almost happened with Vanya only a handful of weeks ago.

 

“During- when I- Rehab?” Klaus asked opening his eyes to Pogo and stumbling over his words yet still managing to get his point across. Pogo’s mouth formed a thin line and he nodded looking to Grace before he elaborated.

 

“Yes, yes of course, well it isn’t surprising that some of your previous… physical distress would have triggered them but… you had quite a few as a child too.” Grace smiled tightly and nodded when Klaus looked at her wide-eyed for confirmation.

 

“How come none of us remember this?” Diego stabbed in to the conversation.

 

“Your father-“ Pogo didn’t get much further into his explanation, and he didn’t really have to, they could all infer. Reginald had thought that the seizures would stop with time and he hadn’t wanted to compromise the performance of any of the other children with what he thought to be needless emotions of worry over Number Four, plus he had found that Klaus gave off some very unique brain waves during his seizures and thought it warranted further study.

 

“Of course!” Diego spat standing up suddenly and looking sharply from Grace to Pogo. “Of course, you two would have known and kept it from us! Is there anything else we should know?!? Are there clones of us in the basement? Do we even really have the same birthday?!? Or was that all a lie too?” Klaus cleared his throat once firmly.

 

“Diego-“

 

“No! No Klaus! NO! They,” He pointed emphatically at Pogo and then at Grace, “Kept vital information from all of us, not just about you but about Vanya too! And for all we know they have some secret about all of us! They knew you had seizures Klaus! Do you know how dangerous that is?!? You- you – you could have fallen! Hit your head! Who knows what! And they knew! They knew all along!” Diego was full on yelling now gesturing wildly. “Who knows maybe they also know why you were always sick! Maybe they could have helped but chose not to because dear dad,” He spat the word like it was a swear, “asked them not to! Maybe all that time you spent sniffling or coughing or whatever – _suffering_ in your room while we ran around on missions, could have been avoided!”

 

“Di-“ Klaus tried again shakier this time, trying to force the word through his rapidly closing windpipe.

 

“NO!” Diego roared again turning and hurling a knife into the wall hitting a portrait of Reggie on safari right in his mustached face. The room went silent save for the twang of the knife as it vibrated into stillness. Diego closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then he opened his eyes and turned taking in the faces of his shocked siblings one by one; Luther’s fists were tightened, Five’s face was a mask staring him down in defiance, Allison’s mouth formed a graceful perfect ‘O’ and Vanya’s hand was white knuckled on to a fold of Allison’s shirt.

 

Finally, his eyes came down to Klaus, who was silently sobbing. He was still shaking like a leaf caught in the wind but these shakes were not the large clumsy chills from earlier, they were tiny, miniscule. Klaus was almost vibrating as if he could vibrate his way from existence, his hand was clamped in the sheets, tightly, knuckles turning blue with the effort. His eyes were blown wide and stuck unblinking on Diego but they still managed to stream big fat ugly tears freely down his cheeks. He let out a shaky noise that might have been a breath and Diego’s heart plummeted when he realized how afraid Klaus was. _Of him_. He had yelled and screamed _at Klaus._ He had gotten mad, he had even responded somewhat violently. He barely allowed himself time to watch as Klaus moved his arms to hug himself, sling falling away as his skinny hands came up and curled around his biceps. As he dragged skin across the soft white sheets he left smears of dry blood and puss from the wounds that still lay uncovered, the wounds Diego was supposed to help to clean and re-bandage. Klaus was hiccupping now, and shaking bad and damnit he was going to have another one. Another seizure only this time it would be Diego’s fault. Diego threw down the gauze he was still holding curving it to make sure it landed safely on the floor rather than atop his brother, before half running half leaping from the room, pushing any sibling or piece of furniture out of his way in order to get to the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there ;p I hope you all like it! I also hope you are all still here and enjoying this! I still enjoy writing it but I also sort of feel like this fandom is dying a bit waiting for the next season which is sad I love this fandom :( maybe I just need to re-watch UA which I can do in DC soon :) 
> 
> I promise eventually I'll get back to the guy in the first chapter of this story I sort of branched off in a different direction sorry! (or not IDK maybe you're enjoying the fluff or are you tired of it I am #~insecure~ but then again I have to read each chapter 3+ times so maybe I feel like it's getting old but it's not??? IDK) there are some Diego and Five centric chapters coming up as well as answers to some of your questions! I'm going go now. 
> 
>  
> 
> stay smexy ;)


	11. After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a short chapter

Klaus began to cough breaking the heavy physical silence that had inserted itself upon the room. With a gentle pop Five came to the head of the bed to place the oxygen mask back over his face. Pogo cleared his throat slightly and looked back down at Klaus there was still quite a bit of work to be done.

 

“Someone should go after him.” It was Vanya voice quiet and breathy. Luther brought a hand to his face and rubbed at his temples, shaking his head.

 

“It can’t be me, Allison?” Allison shook her head kneeling next to the bed and picking back up the work that had been abandoned.

 

“No, I’d rather stay here. Maybe we ought to give him time to cool down?” Klaus pried one of his hands away from his shaky self-hug and batted Five’s hands from his face to remove the mask.

 

“No,” He pulled the mask back to his face take a breath, “Someone needs to go now,” Mask, breath, “otherwise he’ll just,” Mask, “Spiral,” breath “Roof.” He finished letting Five secure the mask again and closing his eyes to settle back. Then he lurched again making his family jump slightly, they were still very much on edge from the seizure, he reached for the mask but Five was too firm this time. Klaus closed his hand and pointed down as much as he was able bouncing his finger once or twice as if to indicate the floor.

 

“Here?” Vanya asked “You want us to bring him here?” Klaus nodded shakily and moved his finger to his own chest poking at himself vigorously. “You want to talk to him?” Klaus nodded, relaxing again and finally allowing Grace, Allison, and Pogo to take over re-bandaging and cleaning. Vanya hesitated before joining them across from Allison, feeling the need to stay with Klaus. This left Five and Luther to look at each other. Luther was the first to speak,

 

“I guess I will be the one to go then?” he said uncertain, Grace frowned kindly and shook her head.

 

“Luther sweetie, we may need you here to help re-position him in a bit.” There were nods of agreement from around the room, when they had done this the first time around Luther’s ability to effortlessly move Klaus with one hand had been indispensable. Plus there was a unanimous feeling that Diego may stab Luther if Number one was allowed to go. Five stood and straightened his little sports coat.

 

“I’ll go then.” Klaus blinked his eyes open and the nodded approvingly. He loved Diego and he loved Five but he would be lying if he said that he didn’t think that Five’s special brand of blunt tough love was what Diego needed and deserved right now. It was also more than likely that Five understood better than any of them what he was feeling.

 

 Five exited the room on foot before blinking to the base of the staircase that would take him to the roof. There was no doubt that Klaus was right about Diego’s location. Diego had often come up here as a child when he was upset, their father had surprisingly embraced this. Whether Diego’s petulance for brooding and moodiness made him more promising of a crime fighter in their father’s eyes, or he approved of the isolation, Five often had thought that if it were at all feasible that Reggie would have raised them with no contact with one another. Either way, Reginald had scattered multiple targets and martial arts dummies around the rooftop area. Which Five had always thought would make a lovely patio and garden if their family had been anything other than what they were. As far as Five knew the targets were all still in place, and this was only confirmed by the dull rhythmic thuds he could hear upon his approach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There~~ I have to say the chapter I just finished writing whoooo-eeee ya'lll I am so PUMMPED about it! it should be in one or two chapters I still have to edit it and decide how to split it up, I wrote almost 2000 words tonight and most of it was in that chapter.
> 
> also I can't seem tp describe anything Grace does as anything other than kindly :/ it jsut fits so well!!! 
> 
> I marathoned Back to the Future after work today if you haven't seen them you SHOULD they are so good, not my personal theory on how time travel should work though (we will get into that in the next chapter ;) but better than the theory in fucking endgame bc that was BULL SHIT 
> 
> As always I'm glad your enjoying this leave me a comment and I'll probably reply with TMI I'll def read it though! 
> 
> Also as a warning, I will be a bit all over the place until Monday (ish) I am traveling to DC for a class I will be there for Two weeks but I will have my laptop and also some time (if I don't make friends) . So I should be churning out regular updates then, after that I am home for the summer and should be able to get myself on a schedule again.


	12. In Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which I abuse my italics privileges. thats it thats the summary

Any observer may have wondered why Five didn’t just simply blink himself on to the roof. One theory could be that he was afraid he would be stuck in a wall, some comic books and movies did seem to imply that safe and effective teleportation was limited to as far as one could see, however, this was not the case with Five he could teleport somewhere safely and successfully using only the vague idea of where he wanted to land as a targeting point.  This theory was made further irrelevant by the fact that this was Five’s childhood home. He was familiar enough with the layout to confidently teleport anywhere he liked, even if he had such a restriction which he certainly did not.

 

No, the reason for his slow and deliberate approach was that he wanted Diego to hear him coming. Not only did that give them both time to prepare what they were going to say but it also drastically decreased the likelihood that he would come out of this encounter needing stitches.

The misplaced guilt that he was sure Diego was harboring at the moment would only be made worse at having to tear their mother away from Klaus to stich up any injury he had caused to Five. Plus, he was confident enough in Diego’s hearing that he would to be able to determine that it was Five and not Luther whose footsteps were approaching him on the stairs, which also brought down the probability of him being stabbed significantly.

 

The door at the top of the stairs was ajar and Five simply pushed it open and stepped out on to the roof with his hands in his pockets to the sight he expected; Diego surrounded by a circle of cartoony target dummies who all had knives in their head groin and chest.

 

Diego was facing away from the door shoulders relaxed and stance slouched, his head hanging low. The hinges on the old rusty door needed oil and they screeched the arrival of the smallest Hargraves on the roof like a town crier. Five made his way to the nearest dummy which was by far the worst for the wear, and probably the oldest, he also noticed that it had a particularly dumb smile drawn it what had to have been crayon, no doubt done by a angry little Diego, there was also a speech bubble with chicken scratch in it, and you could just barely make out the words ‘I’m Number 1!’ scribbled on. Five leaned against target-Luther’s shoulder and crossed his arms.

 

“So.” Was all he said looking warily around to all the targets his brother had set up, there were a few more that looked a bit like Luther and one or two that might even be Allison if you stretched your mind, he didn’t see any that might be him though, to some this may be an indicator that Diego cared for him, Five thought it much more likely that Diego simply had felt uncomfortable using a target of him when he was missing, there were none that resembled Ben either, there was however one that was distinctly wearing eyeliner, not included in the circle and facing away from Diego. Diego turned around not bothering to look startled, then he turned back and hurled a knife into a non-descript mannequin perfectly on target even knocking one of his previous throws out and to the ground with a clatter. Five nearly winced for Delores’s sake.

 

“What do you want?” Diego asked gruffly reaching down into the bucket of old practice knives at his feet for more ammo he landed a knife a few inches from Fives temple in the Luther Dummy. Five reached up and grabbed the knife in his fist pulling it out and throwing it up lightly and catching it. It was old, really old, barely even sharp, so Five didn’t even have to worry about cutting himself (not that it was really a concern, he could handle knives) that was why it had ended up in the bucket, any old knives Diego didn’t want to use for combat anymore went into that bucket, even old kitchen knives could be found there, sometimes scissors. Five shrugged and chucked the knife into a nearby dummy landing it somewhere in the liver area. Not nearly as precise as Diego but still a kill shot all the same.

 

“I don’t want anything I’ve only been sent to bring you back.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Klaus wants to talk to you.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because he does.”  Five was being obstinate on purpose, hoping that if he blew Diego’s anger up it would deflate on him, which was preferable to other targets.  Five could handle Diego, hell he could handle any of his siblings, it was only right he _had_ been on track to become the next handler after all, he could _handle_ anything.

 

“Why?” Diego asked again.

 

“Ask another question maybe I’ll tell you.” Diego sighed frustrated and slammed his steel-toed boot into the side of the dirty plastic bucket, Five supposed that Klaus would make a joke about Diego kicking the bucket. Five wasn’t much for jokes.

 

“Did he have another one?” Five raised his eyebrows.

 

“Seizure?” Diego nodded, thudding his foot into the bucket again and again in a dull rhythm, “no, not before I left.” Diego nodded again. “I’m not sure but I think it might have something to do with his powers.” Five said, normally he wouldn’t share a theory that was still in its infancy with anyone especially his siblings, but Diego may be able to help, he was the closest person to Klaus that Five had access to at the moment, maybe he knew more about how Klaus’s connection to Death worked Five knew it had to go deeper than being able to see the dead; why else was he so inhumanly cold and pale all the time? Diego looked at him sharply so he elaborated, “Why else would Dad have kept it a secret?” Diego shrugged.

 

“Because he was a dick.” Five sighed. Working his jaw and grinding his teeth.

 

“He did what he thought he had-“

 

“HE-“

 

“CALM DOWN, I am _NOT_ saying that I agree with or support it what I am saying his reasoning was consistent and somewhat logical.” Five barked before Diego could start himself up again. After a moment and a thought, he added “If you’re a sociopath.”

 

“Whatever Spock.” The thuds from between the bucket and his shoe suddenly stopped. “Your thinking about going back aren’t you?”

 

“What?” Five said caught off guard by the abrupt topic change.

 

“To get Dave?” Five sighed and slipped his hands back in his pockets to clutch Harold’s glass eye that he was still carrying. Old Habits Die Hard as Delores would say.

 

“Not exactly, I think I may have already _been_ back.” Diego crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. Five could feel Diego’s brain working to try and understand.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Klaus can’t summon Dave, and he’s tried his hardest –I _do_ believe that— but Dave hasn’t appeared, I have no reason to believe that Klaus _can’t_ summon Dave, there is also no reason to believe that Dave _doesn’t_ _want_ to talk to Klaus. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that Dave _isn’t_ dead.” He finished watching to see if Diego would get it.

 

“So you _think_ you already went back to get him…when?... and why don’t you remember?” Five shook his head,

 

“No, not yet, either that I will, – meaning that Dave doesn’t exist right now –on either plane living or dead—or that somehow some other way Dave has managed to time travel and we haven’t caught up to him yet.” Diego nodded seeming to get it somewhat.

 

“But how would Dave-“ Five shook his head again,

 

“I don’t know, the commission maybe? Klaus being there _must_ have been on their radar which means Dave was too, though I thought we ended the commission with the apocalypse, then again once you add time travel into the mix it gets more complicated than that, to my knowledge no commission operations happen beyond the year 2019, unless you count the handler fetching me from 2064, which isn’t actually going to happen anymore.” Diego looked at him either in disbelief or confusion. Five let out a frustrated sigh. “Alright, so Time is liner but when you- or rather I travel in time I blink back from point to point, but it doesn’t make time any less liner, I just _experience_ it in a less liner way, if I go back in time then I’ve already _been_ back in time.” Diego slowly nodded. “Do you understand?”

 

“I think so, so you think that Dave isn’t dead then?”

 

“From the little I understand about the dead they don’t time travel so yes, Dave is either alive in 2019 or alive in the future.”

 

“right… Do you think you could, do it?”

 

“What go get him?” Diego nodded watching Five’s face carefully. Five paused dancing his lips around each other, chewing on the question. “Yes. I think so, there are still a few things I need to work out… but I want to try.” He needed to find a way to make sure he wouldn’t be stuck in 1968, he needed to make sure there was a way to keep Dave alive, and he needed to be sure that Klaus wouldn’t see him in 1968. Something told him he would figure it out though, the same thing that told him that it was him and not the commission who saved Dave. It would be much easier if he could talk to Klaus get an exact timeline of the hours before and after Dave’s death, details on the injury and so on. But he couldn’t do that to Klaus, and on the off chance he was wrong he didn’t want to get Klaus’s hopes up. 

 

“You should tell him.”

 

“What?”

 

“Klaus, you should tell him your theory about Dave.” Five shook his head.

 

“I can’t get his hopes up if I’m wrong. Plus, I’m not the one who needs to talk to Klaus, you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK so. What five says here is basically what I think, something about Five coming back and 'erasing' the Day That Wasn't changed Dave's 'Dead' status by altering the timeline, meaning that Dave being alive somehow depends on Five being with his family. This is based on a quote form some movie that was something like 'If I go back then I've been back' I don't know what movie, if you know what movie please for the love of god tell me. I hope I made it make sense this is not the last time travel thing I explain in this fic and the next bit I had to write out how it's going to work to write the scene. If you have questions I will try to answer them. 
> 
> I have almost hit 40,000 words in my document, which fun fact on my computer is called 24601 (who can get the reference first GO!) because I am semi-ashamed to write Fan fiction sometimes. IDK no one in my real life knows about this story or that I do this or that I've picked up writing again. it's like a dirty little secret. shhhh. 
> 
> I have to be up early tomorrow to leave for DC so this is me saying have a good weekend BC I likely won't be back till after the weekend (Tuesday or Monday IDK)


	13. Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay? Okay

When Five and Diego re-joined the rest of the family in the living room, Klaus was already being settled back into the bedding by Luther to whom he was talking to as animatedly as he could currently manage. Grace was filling up the last of her test tubes with Klaus’s blood and Pogo and the girls were nowhere to be found. Luther noticed the arrival of the last two brothers and finished getting Klaus settled, Klaus had the nasal cannula on again and had been propped up a good deal more, somewhere more blankets had been found and wrapped around him and two temperature read outs were now nestled among the cluster of monitors, a high and a low one read 101.8 and the other only 70. Luther straightened up.

 

“Pogo took the girls to find that old projector and screen dad used to use for lessons.” Luther said making the statement sound awkwardly like a mission report.

 

“We’re going to have a movie night!” Klaus said cheerfully as Grace tucked his arm back under the covers and whisked his blood away to medical with some words about ‘stay warm dear’.

 

“What movie are we going to watch?” Five tried not to scrunch up his nose in distaste before he even heard the title, sure it was something he would hate.

 

“We should all vote.” Luther said dully.

 

“No!” Klaus said far louder than someone who had not a full two hours ago coughed up a ball of sludge into a bowl had any right to be. “I get to pick.” He said finally after somewhat minimal coughing.

 

“Why do you get to pick?” Diego said seating himself on the couch, finding the banter comfortable though a nagging part of him ached to address the elephant in the room emphasized by his knife which was still stuck in the portrait of their father. Klaus raised an eyebrow and dropped his chin in answer as if to say ‘why do you think I get to pick dumb-ass I had a seizure’.

 

“We’re going to watch Iron Man 3” he said with distinct finality. Luther and Diego spoke simultaneously 

 

“We are NOT watching a super hero movie.”

 

“I haven’t even seen the first two!” Klaus focused on that.

 

“How have you not seen Iron Man? Have you seen any of the Marvel movies?” Klaus questioned Luther.

 

“I was on the Moon!”

 

“What they don’t have cable there?” Luther frowned deeply.

 

“No…”

 

“That’s it! We should start with Iron man 3 and then go back and watch them all in release order…” Klaus trailed off to cough again.

 

“Due that’s like 40 movies.”

 

“21.” Diego shook his head, of course Klaus knew exactly how many movies there were.

 

“You sure you’re up for that?” Diego hesitated after Klaus turned to look at him, “I mean there are a lot of like flashing lights in those movies and…” Klaus cut him off.

 

“Diego.” He paused to make sure Diego wouldn’t go on. “I’m okay alright? I’m going to be okay.” Diego moved to kneel by Klaus’s bed.

 

“No, you’re not okay because I yelled at you and Dad used to do that all the time and I’m sorry.” Klaus actually laughed.

 

“I have so many issues with yelling that have nothing to do with Dad.” Diego must have looked as unsettled as he felt by that comment because Klaus went on, “Ok, um no that’s not what I meant to say, Jesus shit look Diego…I’m a mess and I know I’m not the only mess in this family but I might be the most familiar with being an obvious mess… So like… I’m okay with being a mess… okay? And the seizures… I’ve had them before, a lot apparently, and its gonna be okay? Okay?” Klaus bit the side of his lip and looked to Diego expectantly. 

 

“Klaus do you have any idea how fucked all of what you just said was?” Klaus chuckled and then coughed, and then coughed again pitching forward slightly. Diego placed his hand on Klaus’s back and rubbed circles gently. Luther moved to pick up the oxygen mask that lay atop the tank Klaus managed to break off his coughing and wave a hand at Luther.

 

“I’m fine.” If sandpaper could talk it would sound like Klaus did at the moment. “I’m fine… the deal was I’d wear it when I sleep.” Klaus settled taking his hand from his dog-tags to place on Diego’s arm. Luther backed off. Klaus squeezed Diego’s arm, no one saw the way Five stared daggers at the dog-tags as they clanked back into place on Klaus’s chest.

 

“You can’t ask me not to worry.” Diego said after a moment. Klaus gasped at the comment.

 

“I would never brother Dear.” He settled himself back into bed handing going automatically to his dog-tags.

 

The girls returned screen in hand and there was the business of where to set it up and more bickering about the movie. Five wasn’t paying attention he was staring blankly at Delores. More specifically at her pointer finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here you goooo!!~~ I made it to DC safe and sound!! it only took 2 days and a ton of driving to get here!!
> 
> Who has a guess as to why Klaus wants to watch Iron Man 3?? :) 
> 
>  
> 
> Also Klaus is not counting endgame, I know there are 22 movies don't come at me. 
> 
> The real question is.... release order or chronological order?? (marvel stans understand the debate)


	14. Bad Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five has and executes a Bad Plan.

After the handler had come Five had to leave Delores behind in the apocalypse. He had broken off her pointer finger and carried it with him for years until he had lost it. He had gotten in a situation where the commission was certain that he had a personal item, which was strictly not allowed. It had come down to the finger or the eye, and in the end he had chosen the eye, it was more important than being sentimental.

 

 Five was not a stupid man. He never had been, old or young he had always been cold, logical. Five knew that of all his siblings he resembled their father the most, personality wise. He had never bothered to compare their faces, or look into the question further, fearing that he might find he was actually related to that monster, actually his child. No, Five was not and is not a stupid man, this meant that a long long time ago he had accepted and understood the fact that Delores was not real. She did not love him and he might not even love her. He was probably incapable of loving anyone. She had been his insane and ephemeral thread to sanity in the wasteland. A face, any face to look at and talk to.

 

That being said he remembered the pain of losing her. How he had worn all the dirt and paint off of that finger from running his hands along it in his pocket. Klaus was doing the same thing with Dave’s dog-tags. If what he thought he felt for Delores was anything close to what Klaus felt with Dave or even vice versa then he wanted Klaus to have that. And he wanted Klaus to have that _now_. Because Klaus deserved that, and needed that. And he needed it _now_ , whatever Mom found in his bloodwork, whatever the reason that he was putting out both fever and hypothermia temps at the same time, he was going to need Dave to get through it. Klaus was smiling, and he was doing what he always did, pretending he was okay in order to draw the attention away to something else. But Five had seen enough horror and blood in his day to know that Klaus was not okay, he was in pain and he was sick and he was probably scared shitless about being so helpless in a Family that was only just learning what Family meant. The better Klaus seemed to cope the more worried he got. Klaus was shutting down and retreating into a hollow persona. And Five had no idea how to fix it.

 

He made it just over half way through Iron Man 3, far enough to know why Klaus had wanted to watch it anyways, when he slipped out. No one noticed, no one protested, Klaus may have done so if he was not asleep, snoring heavily and sounding painfully congested, mask tucked firmly over his face by Diego hand tangled in the dog-tags limply assuring Five he was doing the right thing.

 

Five made his way to the roof. He sat cross-legged in the center of the circle or practice dummies, and he closed his eyes, then opened them again to realize how stupid what he was about to do was. He glanced at the Dummy that was wearing eyeliner and closed them again, not before he saw the slim shadow of his brother slip through the door and on to the roof.

 

P O P

 

There were gun-shots. So many gunshots, Five dived behind a tree to take cover and moved his hands to his ears. Blood and dirt flew all around him and he was instantly filthy. There was the trench not even a foot away from him but he couldn’t dream of crossing the distance alive. Then he heard a familiar voice, with a tone that had become unfamiliar.

 

“Christ on a Cracker!” Klaus actually sounded happy, full of life and himself, it reminded Five of when they were younger and Klaus had tried on Grace’s heels for the first time, before he fell –this was going to be so much worse than he imagined. “That was a close one, huh Dave?- Dave? WOUNDED! MEDIC! MEDIC!” Five looked over Klaus was not even two yards away laying over Dave’s body. “Dave, look at me. Okay? Oh, damn it. MEDIC! Okay. Look at me. Hey. Hey. Hey.” Even from this distance Five could see that it was too late, oh fuck why had he come here? This was a terrible idea. “Hey, Hey, it’s okay. Hey, Hey, please please _please_ stay with me Dave.” Klaus’s voice was breaking other people were shouting this was a terrible idea. Five pressed his hands to his ears but he could still hear him “no no no no nonono NO! Damn it, I need a Medic!” Klaus’s sobs ripped through Five as Klaus had to be physically removed and dragged away from Dave, they were retreating. Five realized with a gut wrenchingly horrible epiphany that Klaus was going to have to leave Dave’s body on the battle field. The gun fire picked up in a crescendo and Klaus was pulled away leaving Dave and the other war-dead lying in the trench. Dave was staring blindly off seemingly into nothing but he was looking right at Five.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooooeeeeee I hoped you liked this! I'm going to be off and on busy over the next few days so expected infrequent updates. I think I might be getting past a bought of writers block with this, at one point I re-wrote a chapter several times because I knew what I wanted to say but couldn't find a good way to say it :( I'm excited to write the next few chunks though and then we will see where we are at! I have a ok idea of where this is going but I still need to click it all into place. 
> 
> Also in the next chunk I mess with Five's powers a bit, I don't want to give too too much away so all I will say is that under his powers it fits but I have no idea if he would be able to do what I have him do, I figured I was ok to mess with his powers because I am doing it with Klaus and I thiiiink I did it with Vanya in the first story by making her powers more telekinetic than destructive. IDK. more on this all later. 
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you are all still enjoying this, and don't feel like the quality has gone down. I don't think it has but it's hard to tell when you do all your own editing. 
> 
> see yall on the flip side.


	15. ?evaD huh ,eno esolc a saw tahT !rekcarC a no tstirhC

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ?evaD huh ,eno esolc a saw tahT !rekcarC a no tstirhC

Five didn’t remember much more of the night he spent in Vietnam eventually the gunfire ceased completely and the enemy moved on, he waited a few more hours to sunrise but Klaus’s platoon must have already moved on as well. Klaus was likely already back in 2019, the realization hit him like a brass bell, dull, expected, but still somehow shocking. Cautiously Five picked his way over the other dead to Dave. He wasn’t here to save them all, he might not even be able to save the one he came for.

 

He knelt at Dave’s side and looked him over. He was tall, taller than Klaus and broad shouldered and strong, conventionally attractive, and he had a massive hole in his chest and was very very irreparably dead. Five turned the dog tags Dave was wearing over curious as to what they said since Klaus had Dave’s.

 

Name: Klaus Graves

Birthdate: October 1, 1939 

AB-

173rd Airborne Brigade

Agnostic

 

So, they had switched dog tags, it made some amount of sense. They wouldn’t be questioned about it unless someone looked at their dog tags, and even then they would be able to shove it off as a mistake. He wondered if Klaus had used the name ‘Graves’ as a pun on his power or was simply dumb enough to give a name similar to Hargraves in 1968. How Klaus had managed to get ‘Agnostic’ printed on his tags in the sixties was beyond Five. Why did Klaus even _have_ dog tags? He hadn’t actually enlisted.  He rolled Dave’s head in to a more human like position, and realized that his neck must have broken when he collapsed, another injury Five had no way to fix. He shut Dave’s eyes and sighed hanging his head closing his fist around Klaus’s dog tags. This was a colossal failure.

 

Blue light swarmed the closer Five got to crying, for the first time in decades, out of pure frustration at his own stupidity. If Klaus thought Dave could be saved through time travel he would have used the briefcase. How could he have been so _stupid?_ Blue light cracked around them and Five’s head snapped up. He let go of the dog tags and leaned back to watch what was going on. A bright bubble of blue light held him and Dave in the trench, the dog tags flipped over back to where they had been when Five had first touched them, Dave’s head flopped to the side and his dead eyes opened. Even some of the dirt that Five had disturbed moved back. The light on them moved, darkening into night, outside the bubble nothing else moved or was effected. Dirt began to spray, and he could hear the echoes of the battle - warped but there, and then, distinctly;

“?evaD huh ,eno esolc a saw tahT !rekcarC a no tstirhC” and he watched as Dave’s body rolled over – he could even see the indent of Klaus’s hand rolling him- and the bullet came in reverse from Dave’s chest exiting the bubble and clashing to the ground as it instantly lost momentum, having been fired hours ago. To anyone standing outside it would have looked like the bullet simply manifested itself on the abdonded battle field. Dave resumed his position in the trench, ready to fire.  There was a sudden POP and the light was gone, to an outsider it looked as if Dave and Five had just teleported there. Dave fired a single shot out into the day scaring a some birds off into the air. His head snapped around and locked on Five.

 

“Christ on a-“ Five socked him squarely in the side of the jaw knocking him out clean.

 

“Don’t you _dare_ finish that sentence.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ..... thoughts???  
> for this chapter I looked up that picture that we see of Dave and Klaus in the vet bar to see if Klaus had dog tags, he doesn't, he's wearing daves in the pic and dave isn't wearing any, but I kinda said FUCK IT and made them anyways cuz I wanted to, that's why Five says something about why does he even have dog tags etc. 
> 
>  
> 
> I may have to take a bit of a longer break to have time to get some good writing in, I haven't been writing 1000 every night as I normally do (partly because I've been leaving off not at a evenish thousand so it's hard to do math ok?) I've been too busy and tired.
> 
> I'm doing an ASL intensive / immersion program rn and its intense. ASL all day everyday can be a bit exhausting mentally and physically and when I get back to the dorms I just want to veg out, but I also can't wait for the weekend bc I have always wanted to eat lunch on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Is that weird? Like I want to get a sandwich or something and eat it on the steps. Does anyone have an fav places in DC? I've been to most of the touristy stuff before, though I'll do the American history museum again I think I've never been alone and I have a car now so I can go places alone. 
> 
> I'm rambling I will leave you with a quote from go ole Abe 
> 
> Whatever you are, be a good one.
> 
> I like that. 
> 
> keep it real <3


	16. Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five makes the jump

 Diego had noticed Five’s absence right after Five had managed to slipped out. Diego had no doubt about what Five was about to do, he had begun to notice the way Five watched Klaus play with Dave’s dog-tags more than he watched the movie, which Diego didn’t remember having so much about PTSD in it. Was that why Klaus had wanted to watch it? Maybe. Probably, he was a sly bastard with no subtlety.

 

Diego managed to catch up to Five easily, lingering behind him the whole way up. Five didn’t make any jumps to shorten his journey to the roof, which he only ever did if he was saving energy for a big jump. That was probably why his legs were so skinny, he never fucking walked anywhere. Just as Diego opened the door and slipped on to the roof Five was gone, with a very loud popping sound. Diego began to make his way to the center of his practice circle where he had seen Five just a moment ago.

 

He didn’t even make it half way before Five was back, kneeling this time by the collapsed body of a man. Five and the man were both filthy and Five had a gun slung over his shoulder he let go of the man (presumably Dave) as soon as he saw they had landed in the right time, and stood up brushing off his bare knobby knees of grit. Diego ran the last few steps to them and flipped Dave on to his back searching his chest for a wound. He assumed that Five had taken him from the moment he had been injured, planning to save him with modern medicine. He could not find a wound.

 

“He’s not injured?” Five was examining the gun, which must have been Dave’s.

 

“No, He’s not.” Five sounded bored.

 

“How? What… why?”

 

“I don’t know, I have some experimenting to do. You should stay here until he wakes up.”

 

“What? No!” Five quirked an eyebrow at Diego.

 

“Someone has to stay with him, when he wakes up he’s going to be confused and possibly lightly concussed I hit him harder than I intended to.”

 

“Five _I’m_ confused… wait you _hit_ him?” But Five was gone, blinked his way down to the kitchen for some food before blinking his way to the park; where he killed several flowers in the name of science.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoot whooot. Alrighty then, I almost didn't write today so I almost didn't post but I decided to go ahead and do it! I spend the day in DC doing touristy stuff, I even went and saw the Vietnam memorial!! I was curious to see if Gerard Way had lifted Dave from history and looked it up and there are actually three people with the last name Katz on the wall!! no David's though. 
> 
> I also got a wicked sunburn and my feet are killing me. 
> 
> but hey Dave is in 2019 now!!!! 
> 
> keep it frosty


	17. Gay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was so so Gay with Klaus, for Klaus.

David Katz had up until recently lead a fairly normal life, he grew up in the city –his family was neither rich nor poor. He had a younger sister and two older brothers. His younger sister was hit by a car when she was only five, his father drank heavily before, but then after he had drunk himself to death leaving poor Patty Katz widowed with three young boys, she got re-married to David’s step-father, a strict but kind man, only a few short years after that.  Both of David’s brothers had volunteered and been killed overseas, David’s mother had cried when he had been drafted. Dave didn’t tell her that he was probably going to enlist anyways, he didn’t know what else he would do, he didn’t see himself getting married. The story of David Katz was certainly a sad one, but not completely un-heard of and hardly remarkable. Dave would admit it. His life was boring, average, the war was the only amount of excitement he had ever gotten. Then came Klaus.

 

Klaus dropped in to what would have been the perfectly normal and mundane American Tragedy of David Katz like a bomb drops in on a nearby town. Klaus was the most beautiful person Dave had ever seen, and he gave Dave a word that he hadn’t even known he was looking for, _Gay._ It all made so much sense, he didn’t ever date, he hadn’t liked it at all when Nancy had kissed him when he was twelve, he had thought he just wouldn’t be a person who fell in love, he never thought he’d find the right girl, and he never did, who he was looking for wasn’t a girl at all, he was looking in the wrong place, the wrong gender, the wrong century, Dave was Gay. But that didn’t matter anyways because he loved Klaus so whole heartedly that he didn’t ever see himself loving another man.

 

Dave would have done anything for Klaus, Klaus who so clearly didn’t belong in this war, who was so delicate and strong Dave wanted to cry. Klaus had explained that the word Gay used to mean happy, this made perfect sense to Dave because Klaus had made him redefine happiness. He was so so Gay with Klaus, for Klaus.

 

Then he had died.

 

But Dave didn’t experience it that way.

 

He was in the trench, Klaus at his side and the bullets were flying. Klaus never seemed to belong in the trenches or at war, or in fighting Klaus belonged somewhere else, lounging on a couch while Dave fed him grapes seemed like a good option. He hated it when bullets flew past Klaus, whistling by and mussing his perfect curls, any one bullet could end his happiness. One bullet did, be he didn’t find out about it until later.

 

Klaus was starting to say something, shouting in manic glee back to him in the night, and then it was daytime and a school kid was standing next to him. The kid knocked him out with impressive strength for someone so small and he woke up somewhere else. In another time in fact, but again Dave didn’t find out about that part until later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theeereeeeee <3
> 
> today I went to a mall and found 2 new UA pins!! they had Vanya on a pin this time yay!! So of the siblings I'm just missing Luther and Ben (if they made him a pin which I bet they didn't) they also had some T-shirts!! So I think we may be getting some TUA merch soon which is good BC I need a Klaus funko so bad. give it to me. now. the checkout girl was like 'yeah I saw yesterday that they confirmed the 2nd season when I was browsing netflix' and I was like 'yeah! they are already in production!!' 
> 
> my sunburn feels a little better today but I have class tomorrow (:( no more exploring DC) so I need to go to bed now 
> 
>  
> 
> Keep it real


	18. And you must be...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave meets with our favorite knife wielding vigilante

Diego watched Dave sleep for a few hours, almost until sunrise. Dave was sprawled on the roof like an abandoned G.I Joe, mouth gaping open and drooling a bit. A bruise was forming on his jaw where Five had knocked him out. Diego had no idea what Five thought he was supposed to do with him. What was he supposed to tell the guy when he woke up? He had no idea how much Dave knew or what had even happened with Five for him to end up here. It seemed like Five may have sort of kidnapped him. He would probably have to apologize for that because Five sure as hell wouldn’t.

 

Eventually Diego got bored and did what he always did when he got bored, started to throw knives, pinning a smiley face into the chest of one of his Luther Dummies. He was expecting Dave to groan and roll over to indicate he was starting to wake up so he would have some warning, that was not what happened.

 

Diego had just begun to contemplate if he should try for a stick person body or a nose on his smiley man when Dave sat bolt upright and started to scream. Diego jumped up about six inches and did a yelp he was happy only his practice dummy siblings saw rather than his real ones. He turned lightning fast and chucked a knife right at Dave’s face. Thankfully, he regained his composure in time to curve it away from his nose. Klaus would have been so mad. Dave stopped screaming after the knife clattered to the ground somewhere on his left. The blade flying towards him and the noise of it hitting the concreate enough to re-set his brain from panic to logic. He blinked and caught his breath before deadpanning,

 

“Ah, you must be Diego.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY ITS BEEN A HECKIN MINuiteeee 
> 
>  
> 
> this chapter is partially to just let you all know that 1) I am alive 2) I have not abandoned this story 
> 
> I know it ma have seemed like I dropped off the face of the earth for a bit there but I did not! well I did, but here's what happened. So I think it may have been coming through in my authors notes but I have been hitting a bit of a struggle bus with this recently, not writers block but more like I had fragments but they were unable to connect and weren't going anywhere. 
> 
> like I was writing endless pointless fluff which um yay but it felt like- if this makes sense- the story was fighting me, activity telling me 'no this is not what I am I have more in me dumb ass', when I write or whatever its less like I'm creating and more like I'm like a interface for a story that already exists but I don't have like access to the whole thing yet. 
> 
> So what I did is I went back and re-read the whole thing, hoping I would find plot crumbs I may have left myself. 
> 
> AND I DID! I actually foreshadowed something I didn't know that I was going to do! I now know who the big baddie is (oh your going to love it, and also hate it mwhahaha). Anyways I know where I'm going rather than writing circular fluff, and when I post that stuff you will KNOW what I am talking about, it is like, okay this is cute but wasn't there a whole like PLOT happening??? so yeah I re -read the monster. 
> 
> but heres the thing
> 
> this is currently 44077 words. 
> 
> dat looong af tbh, and I was in DC I was busy, so I read a bit each night in my normal writing time, it took a bit and THEN I had my a-ha moment but had to finish reading to make sure the moment was compatible with the rest (it is- I was gonna put kinda here but then I thought about it for a minute and like six other things made sense, and my brain supplied some Five dialogue for later). So I got done with reading everything that was posted and was into reading through what I have in my 'bank'. Then it was time to go home from DC, a 12ish hour drive split over 3 days. After a full day of driving I just want to collapse and read someone else's writing. 
> 
> So basically I have done a ton of work on this fic but haven't added many words to it but I know where I'm GOING now. 
> 
> I mostly needed to get this off my chest. I hope some of you read this, iv'e said this before but no one in my Real Life knows about this IDK I just don't want to tell them so I can't vent about any of it to anyone that isn't... you guys.... I should get back in the swing of writing soon (I wanted to write when I was on the road I was just too darn tired, also I was driving), and once my summer schedule is in place I will be able to post more regularly and predictably 
> 
> I know this chapter was short I realized that when I went to bring it over from my laptop to AO3, but like I said I'm eating in to my cushion for this so...
> 
> anyways this notes is likely longer than the chapter but anyways. 
> 
>  
> 
> Keep it glossy.  
> ~NGF


	19. Stare down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego is a werido

Diego and Dave stared at each other for a long and awkward minute. Dave seemed to be hoping not only that he was correct in his identification of Diego but also that his comment would break the tension, Diego was sort of hoping Dave would pass out again. Diego stared at Dave intensely, he understood _why_ Five had brought him here, but now that Dave was here, Diego was feeling… conflicted. How were they supposed to deal with what was happening with Klaus (oh, shit he hadn’t been down stairs in _hours_ what if there were new developments??) AND also deal with the whole man-out-of-time situation that Five had evidently created. They had to deal with all that all while Diego made up his mind as to whether of not Dave was good enough for Klaus, not your typical meet the family type situation.

 

Dave looked around to roof whilst Diego continued to stare him down. Eventually Dave got to his feet and picked up the knife Diego had thrown at him. Cautiously, he walked over to Diego and flipped the knife around in his hand so he was holding the blade, holding the handle out for Diego to take. It was an old knife, very much past its prime, probably found by Reginald at an antique shop or maybe the old coon had bought it new, who knows. Dave stifled a laugh looking at it in his hand.

 

“What?” Diego said suddenly defensive.

 

“The year. On the blade?” Dave said an amused smile began to dance across his lips, “1938, it’s the year I was born.” Diego took the knife and tossed it in the air a few times, then without breaking eye contact - he threw it into the head of a practice dummy. The knife sunk deep into its pillow head, and feathers were still floating lightly to the ground when Five blinked back to the roof.

 

“You’re awake.” He said slightly surprised. Dave nodded, unsure of speaking when Diego’s eyes were boring a hole in his skull like that. Five looked at Diego and let out a long-suffering sigh. “ _Diego, stop._ ” Diego looked sharply at Five and then hit Dave with one last blast of his glare before he headed to the practice dummy to retrieve his knives. Five frowned slightly then turned to Dave. “Welcome to the year 2019, I’m sure you have questions. I-“ Dave interrupted him by taking off his helmet and placing it on a practice Dummy’s head. Five stared at him mouth slightly open, incredulous as Dave gave the helmet a shove to make it fit the Dummy’s head better, he also un loaded the rest of his gear on to the dummy leaving him just in his pants boots and shirt.

 

“No actually- Well I mean, _yeah_. But right _now,_ I just want to see Klaus.” Klaus had told Dave that he came from the future, he had told him about Diego, and about Five, everything he had said was insane. Dave had never once doubted the truth behind his words, and he had fully intended to go back with him after the war. He had it all planned out, he had the letter he would send his mother addressed and ready to send in his pocket. Obviously, something had gone wrong, but if he was here, Klaus was here, he was fairly certain of that. And he missed him, even though it had been from his point of view only a few moments since he had been laying in that trench with him, something made it feel longer, much longer.

 

“He’s sleeping.” Five said dismissively with a confidence that indicated that he knew it to be true. Diego looked up suspiciously, but then simply nodded, of course Five had stopped in to check on Klaus, at that very moment Grace appeared in the doorway wiping her hands on her apron.

 

“There you boys are! You disappeared after that lovely movie, and- oh hello.” Dave wiped his hands as best he could on his pants and moved forward towards Grace. The filth of war that clung to him was a very stark contrast to her pristine exterior.

 

“Morning, mam’ I’m David, David Katz.” He held out his hand for her to shake which she did.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you… Mr. Katz… you may call me Grace.”

 

“Dave, please. You wouldn’t happen to know where Klaus is?” He said with all the charm and etiquette of a southern gentleman caller.

 

“He’s downstairs, but I will have to insist that you change and wash up first, Klaus is in a somewhat vulnerable state and I would rather not expose him too many unnecessary germs…” Dave wondered if everyone on the roof could feel his heart clench in fear. Unknown to him they were all dealing with similar reactions, Diego’s jaw tightened and Five’s eyes narrowed. Dave simply nodded. Grace turned to Five, and scolded him “You as well young man, we are upping the hygiene regimen in this house to keep your brother as healthy as possible.” With that she turned sharply on her pointed heel and made her way down into the house.

 

“Is there a place I could wash…. And maybe some clothes that I could borrow?” Dave asked the awkward silence Grace had left them with. Diego crossed his arms and nodded eyes still glaring, while Five simply turned and disappeared. This was shocking to see but not unexpected as Klaus had told him that Five was the most open an obvious about using his power.

 

“Come on,” Diego said after a moment. “You look like you should fit in some of my clothes.” Dave looked at him, somewhat surprised a person could say something that on the surface was nice and make it sound like a threat, he then nodded and followed him down into the impressive house that held so many of Klaus’s stories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after that marathon authors note yesterday I will not be saying much except, 
> 
> stay sexy and don't get murdered.


	20. iiiieeeHHHHH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title for this chapter: Luke

“Wait I _died_?” Dave was finding Five to be hard to understand, or appease in any way as he seemed to just get more and more frustrated every time Dave opened his mouth. Which was sort of weird, Dave was normally great with kids.

 

“Yes, but also no, I prevented that from happening.”

 

“How exactly did you do that again?” The taller woman –Allison asked. They were all gathered around a table in an exceptionally large kitchen. He had not yet been allowed to see Klaus (who was apparently resting comfortably in the care of someone called Pogo –though no one would tell Dave _why_ Klaus was resting or _who_ Pogo was) even though he was now showered and wearing a T-shirt and jeans that belonged to Diego. The jeans seemed to be far too tight for Dave but Diego said that they fit and they were comfortable enough. Dave had decided he trusted Diego, even though he had thrown a knife at him earlier.

 

“I already told you, I reversed the time of the portion of space that Dave was occupying at the time when he died.” Allison nodded thoughtfully, Dave wondered if she actually understood what Five had said or when was just pretending, someone had said she was an actress.

 

“How long have you been able to do that?” The big one –Luke?- Klaus hadn’t spoken about him much- said skeptically.

 

“I only just did it for the first time, with Dave, that’s why I went to the park to-“

 

“Pick flowers?” Diego earned himself a glare from Five. No one seemed phased by how much Five seemed to glare, he seemed to Dave to be a supremely unhappy child.

 

“No, to test the limits.” Dave raised his hand, everyone turned to look at him and he lowered it slightly, he didn’t want to interrupt Five. It seemed impolite, he was trying his best to be polite, make a good impression, and show that he was raised right- this was Klaus’s _family_ but god they were all so…so…stupid and unhelpful. He wanted to slap them, put them in a choke hold against a wall and force them to tell him where Klaus was and why everyone was so goddamn worried about him. He thought he understood enough to see Klaus, he got the basics; Dave had died in Klaus’s arms and Klaus had returned to the year 2019 and it had been about 2 mouths since this had all happened. That was enough information to go see Klaus.

 

“Yes?” Luke said very calmly as if he really were taking a question from an eager pupil in a classroom, rather than his brothers increasingly frustrated boyfriend. Dave put his hand down completely, uncomfortable with the power that seemed to give the hulking giant before him.

 

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t care about any of this, from what I understand I was dead and now I’m not but Klaus still thinks I’m dead, can someone show me where he is?”

 

Five was staring at Dave incredulously. The rest of them just seemed stunned and curious.

 

“What do you mean you _don’t care?_ You and I experienced an acute temporal anomaly! This is history in the making! We have no idea what the long-term effects of this could be! We changed the natural flow of time…and space…” Five’s furious rant was cut off by… a chimp…in a suit…that had appeared in the entrance to the kitchen, no one seemed that alarmed so Dave decided he would roll with it. Maybe this was common in the 2000’s he had no way of knowing.

 

“I hate to interrupt but you are all needed in the living room immediately. Master Klaus appears to be suffering a nightmare, I am unsure how to calm him myself, he did mention master David in his sleep so perhaps he may be of some use?” Dave stood up causing the bench to screech across the floor with an ugly iiiieeeHHHHH sound. The others paused for a moment before following the chimp to the living room. And more importantly to Klaus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eeeeekkkkkk I promise Dave and Klaus meet in the next chapter and then I waffle around for a bit before getting back to the plot. I just did some major edits on the next chapter like somewhere around + 200 words big so the next chapter I thiiiink is longer. (LOL no it's the chapter after the next one) 
> 
> Also I am so happy but I keep seeing things in fics where it's mentioned that Klaus doesn't have a good imune system or was sickly as a kid and I just become the 'is this a pigeon meme but I'm like 'Is This MY INFLUENCE?' I know I wasn't the first one to give sickly!Klaus a swing but my brain likes to run with things (fucking clearly this was a little prompt I found one day on tumblr and now look at with my nearing 50,000 word document omfg) 
> 
> anyhow I still have not settled in to my summer schedule yet so in the next few weeks we will see, I will mainly be working night shifts so I may have to switch to updating in the morning. but IDK we shall see. 
> 
> another final note, when I was re-reading lately I noticed some big ole typos so if you notice any where very clearly I made a typo or a mistake / am using the wrong word please tell me! there is nothing I hate more that a fic I like having the word like tot where got should be or something its like brain meltingly upsetting I just ask you be nice about it, I am not asking for a beta, I do not want one but if you point out a typo I wont be mad. 
> 
> Keep it glossy keep it real   
> NGF


	21. GO AWAY GO AWAY NO NO DAVE NO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GO AWAY GO AWAY NO NO DAVE NO

Dave reached the living room and followed the chimp (whose name was apparently Pogo) to the end of the mattress, where he stopped for a moment to remember how to breathe.  There Klaus was, laying there limp and shaking on the bed, every limb that Dave could see peeking from the multitude of blankets was wrapped and bandaged. There were various small stuffed toys hiding amongst the bedding as well as a monster doll that had teeth. Wires snaked their way like jungle roots and lace around the blankets and animals and into Klaus, in his chest on his face everywhere. As well as an oxygen mask cupping his face. Klaus was muttering to himself and shifting, body flinching uncontrollably when he did so; as if he was in great pain but couldn’t be sure until he moved. Dave made his way quickly to the side of the bed and reached out before drawing back. Klaus looked so fragile.

 

Dave remembered when his sister had been hit by that car she hadn’t died instantly - his father had run out and taken her in his arms and she screamed in agony for a splitting moment before she finally submitted to death. Dave was afraid to touch Klaus, he was so pale, just as she had been, so fragile just as she had been, so _hurt._ He couldn’t risk it, instead he leaned in close.

 

“Klaus, sweetheart, can you hear me? It’s Dave ok? Everything’s ok, I just need you to wake up for me now.”  To his absolute horror Klaus’s eyes popped open and then forcefully shut tight and he began to scream, unable to form words at first but finally finding familiar enough sounds to make them;

 

“GO AWAY GO AWAY NO NO DAVE NO”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this is uhhhh this is shoooort oops there is a long as hell chapter coming up, soonish. You will get more tomorrow morning I believe because uhh I feel bad this was so short. (even though I only wrote 843 words tonight rather than my normal thousand bad me bad!) anyways, i think i'm going to have to make another cut... I'm not certain yet but I think I might end this story and make another sequel because I just reached An Ending. not THE ending, but like the end of a part. but uhhh I only know the 2 arctic monkey songs so... yeahhhhh. maybe P!nk songs? I think P!nk is like the perfect artist for Klaus. IDK opinions??
> 
> alright, I gotta go,  
> NGF


	22. You- Your- But I- alive?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You- Your- But I- alive?

“Klaus, sweetheart, can you hear me? It’s Dave ok? Everything’s ok, I just need you to wake up for me now.” Klaus woke up instantly to those words, that voice. _Dave_. It couldn’t be, could it? He swam harder, sprinting out of the depths of his formless nightmare opening his eyes and there was Dave looking just as he had when he last saw him. And then he remembered what that meant. What that could only mean.

 This wasn’t Dave.

 It was his ghost.

 Dave was dead and Klaus couldn’t deal with it right now. He didn’t want Dave’s ghost. He wanted Dave. He wanted Dave to be there and be able to hold him and soothe him and sing to him gently and off-key like he used to do those nights they spent stolen under the Vietnamese stars. He screamed, he couldn’t take the thought of Dave’s ghost being here.

 

“GO AWAY GO AWAY NO NO DAVE NO”  He shut his eyes, he didn’t want to see, couldn’t see, that hole in his Dave, torn right between his ribs blood dripping out of it and Dave’s head all sideways. His beautiful tanned skin sickened with the pallor of the dead. And he would say that things that he always said in the nightmares. _‘why didn’t you save me? You left me for dead, Klaus, you never loved me, I never loved you, you were just a hot piece of ass in a cold jungle and I was lonely’_ Klaus thrashed away from the hands that grabbed at him gently trying to still him.

 

“Sweetheart, baby please, _please_ , open your eyes for me. Look at me please, I promise it’s alright.” It was Dave again, Dave’s ghost. But Klaus was selfishly optimistic, he wanted to see Dave again. Just a peek wouldn’t hurt, maybe Dave would be different. Like Ben.

 

He opened his eyes and there was Dave. Face glowing, a few tears escaping down his cheeks and holding Klaus’s good arm gently at the elbow. Klaus could feel the steady warmth Dave always had reaching into him from where his hand met Klaus’s elbow.  Klaus let out a breath and then a hiccup of the leftover tears and pain the sudden movement had caused him. He really needed to try and move a lot less. Dave seemed to take it as a question and brought Klaus’s hand to his cheek in answer. Klaus cupped Dave’s cheek in his hand clumsy pale fingers tracing at the skin beneath his eyes.

 

“You- Your- But I- alive?” Klaus forced his breathy words through the mask, gulping at air against the emotion, confusion and lingering pain, Dave nodded and then Klaus was crying again and so was Dave. Dave pressed a wet chaste kiss to Klaus’s forehead and Klaus wished he had the strength left in him to pull his hand to his face to remove the mask for a real kiss. Already though Dave’s strong steady hand fully supported Klaus’s brittle one. Dave’s other hand came around to touch Klaus’s cheek gently with the backs of his fingers stroking away a few of the tears, happy ones now, as Klaus shut his eyes to preserve the moment.

 

His whole body felt overcome, apparently including his lungs when he pitched forward in a coughing fit that seemed to gather its strength in Klaus’s very soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised a bit more because that chapter was short AF yesterday!!!


	23. It’s sort of a long story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s sort of a long story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! it's been a bit! I just wanted to say that this chapter and the next like 2ish went through some of the heaviest and significant edits and revises EVER, but in like a good way where I was re-reading and was like oh oh oh oh I need to add this detail!!

Diego felt very odd watching Klaus and Dave reunite. At first, he was afraid; Klaus seemed so upset and distributed by Dave’s presence that it unpleasantly reminded him of Andrew. As soon as Dave touched him the worry melted away replaced by a solid stone of sadness at Diego’s core. Klaus had thought that Dave was a ghost, Klaus had been trying to summon Dave’s ghost for months now but when actually faced with it seemed unable to deal with the reality of what it meant. Klaus had wanted Dave alive, he hadn’t dared to say it, think it, even wish it, but deep down he had wanted Dave to be alive. He hadn’t wanted to see him dead and bloody but up until right then, this very moment, he thought that it was his only option. Dave being alive and here changed everything. For a moment with Klaus leaning in to Dave’s hand Diego was so certain that his brother was going to be alright.

 

Then he began to cough. Wet barking hacks that threw his body around like a marionette. He pitched forward as he choked on his own airway and Dave lurched forward and easily caught him. Leaning him back into his arms and whispering to him gently, the coughing did not stop.  Dave turned to the rest of them as Klaus curled miserably into Dave, gurgling and choking.

 

“WHAT. THE. HELL. HAPPANED.” Dave sounded so mad, furious and dangerous. His arms still gently and protectively holding Klaus as the coughing managed to work itself down. Leaving Klaus spitting and wheezing limp curled in Dave’s arms that had formed a protective ring around Klaus, almost as if Dave wanted to touch Klaus with all his body, but at the same time was too afraid to touch even an inch of that bruised skin.

 

“It’s sort of a long story.” Allison answered. Dave glared settling Klaus down and standing up briefly to remove the only clean pair of jeans Diego had in his room, very much unbothered by being in only his boxers in fount of so many strangers, he then snuggled himself back into Klaus, rearranging the blankets and pillows so that he was supporting Klaus who snuggled into Dave’s side mumbling something along the lines of ‘careful of m’left foot’ not that he had to, Dave was careful of everything, holding Klaus firmly with a feather gentle touch. Clearly Dave had an understanding that Klaus was very badly injured but all the same desperately needed to be held by him. The two fit perfectly together, the contours of their separate bodies fitting together neatly in a way that made you wonder why it hadn’t looked like something was missing before they had been set together. A perfect matched set.

 

 Klaus was fit into Dave’s side with his face and cheek resting on Dave’s upper chest, the blankets still wrapped tightly around his shoulders. Both of Dave’s arms were curled around Klaus holding him into his side. Klaus’s sickly and skeletal body looked tiny next to Dave, who was pressing kisses gently into Klaus’s sweaty curls as he glowered around the room at the siblings.

 

“Well start talking I’m not going anywhere.” Dave said in answer to Allison, Klaus hummed and muttered something, distracting Dave from his goal of verbally ripping apart the remaining Hargraves one by one, politeness be damned, “What was that honey?” his voice changed in an instant to cool low and soft, his full attention on Klaus. Klaus fussed with the oxygen mask giving Dave big green doe eyes until he helped him pull it away reluctantly. His reluctance began to tip Diego’s scales of opinion towards him over into trust, clearly Dave knew and recognized that Klaus couldn’t be trusted with his own wellbeing. Point Dave.

 

“It doesn’t matter Dave, someone hurt me but Diego took care of it.” Klaus’s voice was rough with emotion, exhaustion, pain and illness. Dave nodded firmly, with the slowness of a person who was still mulling over what they were agreeing to. Something in Klaus’s face made him submit though, he looked to Diego who was rolling from his heels to his toes and back again, face turned downwards towards the action. Dave nodded at him gently and sincerely, eyes bright with gratitude, he knew he was right to trust Diego, he quickly moved his attention back to Klaus, not feeling that Diego needed him to linger too long, Diego didn’t need Dave to tell him he had done the right thing.

 

“Alright Babe, then let’s work on getting you better.” Grace flitted into the room with impeccable timing.

 

“Ah yes, about that.” She glided over to stand by Pogo, “We need to have a bit of a family meeting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, I know I don't have a consistent upload schedule, I'm not gonna have one this summer I don't think, the main problem I'm having is my step sister came home and I cant really write with others in the room (I'm to afraid It will be 'whatcha doin?' and i'll have to say writing a fan fiction about torture that is almost 50,000 words) and we share a room. I also work retail which means weird and changing hours, I HAVE NOT abandoned this, don't get worried I can think of too many stories I could tell in this verse. I think in a way I've been waiting a long time for something that lends itself to a project like this, or maybe just waiting to get the ladyballs to just write something that I've always wanted to exist (a long ass recovery fic with fluff and maybe some plot) . I want to truly thank you all for letting me make that and being so gosh darn wonderful about it. 
> 
> I'll shut up now.   
> Be nice to retail workers, also we are struggling hard with dumb people all day. 
> 
> NGF


	24. I’ve met god and she doesn’t even really like me so there

 

_“Ah yes, about that.” She glided over to stand by Pogo, “We need to have a bit of a family meeting.”_

 

* * *

 

 

For the Hargraves, a family meeting was not something that could just spontaneously begin. Nothing ever could. There was quite a bit of fuss that had to happen between Grace’s announcement and the beginning of the meeting. Everyone had to find a seat, the screen from the movie had to be moved out of the way, and Pogo insisted that someone should try and get Klaus to eat some broth while they talked.

 

Klaus had barely been eating and Pogo was pretty sure he was going to end up with a feeding tube, he was so skinny to begin with, and the whole situation had interfered with Grace’s plans to get him back to a healthy weight. Now, getting Klaus to eat was a pretty difficult task, he had no appetite and was usually too weak or immobile to eat on his own. It was generally agreed by everyone that Klaus wasn’t ready for solid food, he had been kept alive thus far on broth, fluids and nutrients through his PICC line and some tea, leaving the PICC line in long-term would expose Klaus to certain health risks that Pogo wasn’t certain they could take. A tube might aide the situation from all fronts.

 

Dave eagerly claimed the task of helping Klaus eat, which was good; Klaus was willing to accept help from Dave more so than the others. Just being near and touching Dave was something he seemed unable to pass up. Dave helped him settle back on to the pillows making sure he was warm enough and being very gentle, then settling himself kneeling on the floor by the bed.

 

Diego and Luther and to a lesser extent Allison looked on with varying levels of approval. No one could see Ben putting Dave under the most powerful microscope he could manage, glaring at him steadily from beyond the grave, if he could have, he would have been taking notes.

 

Vanya, however, always the black sheep of the family wasn’t worried, she trusted Dave fully already. Though she herself had been proven not to always be the most supreme judge of character, and far too quick to trust, Klaus did not have that particular character flaw. Her brother trusted no one and was an excellent judge of character, if he trusted Dave she trusted Dave it was simple as that.

 

Once everyone was settled Pogo began to speak, his weathered hands cupping the top of his cane, lifting it to tap it steadily against the floor. “First, I would like to check some of Master Klaus’s vitals to confirm everything Miss Grace found in his blood work as well as verify some things that I was able to discern from your father’s notes.” Diego grumbled at the mention of their father- seething his way further into a slouch that was largely being ignored by his siblings but was duly noted by Dave. Dave knew very little about Reginald Hargraves, but the little he did know had determined that he did not care for the man- at all.

 

Pogo checked Klaus’s heartbeat, his oxygen levels his temperature (in several spots, his forehead his armpit and his wrist) and the output on the fluid drains from his lungs. All while nodding sagely and slowly, as if to say, ‘yes as I expected’ but not in any way implying that anything he checked was encouraging, quite the opposite actually. Finally, he nodded once at Grace before re-situating himself adjacent to her.

 

“All as expected, this confirms it fully then.” The last part was directed at Grace who nodded simply her lips forming a tight and serious line.

 

“Confirms what?” Both Dave and Diego spoke in unison and then bounced back to look at each other in surprise. Dave with his spoon stuck empty in the air on the way back to the bowl and Diego with his eyebrows raised and lips drawn in an almost pout.

 

It was strange for Diego not to be the only one who seemed to give two halves of a shit about Klaus or his wellbeing, including Klaus himself. Of course, Diego knew that all of his other siblings cared just as much about Klaus as they did each other but Klaus always seemed to be so easy to overlook, along with Vanya. The difference was with Vanya they had been trained to ignore her by their father, and there had been a recent very focused effort to change this (along with the other questionable directives their father had ingrained in them), now that they knew that she could end the world. With Klaus, it felt more like they had always and still _chose_ to ignore and discredit him at every turn, they never really had to, and yet they just always seemed to. But recently it seemed to Diego that all the focus on Vanya pulled away from the fact that Klaus had suffered immensely in their childhood, more so than most of them.

 

Diego had also seen Klaus in the worst of his addiction, picked him up, brought him to the gym to dry out, which gave Diego cause to be in Klaus’s corner. He was just used to being somewhat of a lone supporter, sometimes (often) it was like supporting a boxer that seemed determined not to win. Dave changed things, which Diego wasn’t entirely sure he was okay with yet. He couldn’t really confirm if he trusted or even liked Dave, and before he finalized that decision he couldn’t leave Klaus alone and in Dave’s care. Diego wouldn’t make the same mistake he had made with Andrew again. He couldn’t afford to do that and Klaus certainly couldn’t afford for him to either. Before they could get any further into the conversation, Klaus interrupted- or rather Ben did by way of Klaus.

 

“Oh, Ben has something he’d like to say, yes Benjamin?” His voice was hoarse and tired, but the happiness had somewhat returned to it, he seemed more himself with Dave at his side. Whether this was an actual mood boost or him simply putting on airs in front of his boyfriend was impossible for even his family to tell. Klaus had always been a master of misdirection when it came to masking his emotions. Klaus seemed to listen to Ben for a moment before he screwed up his face.

 

“No Ben I’m not passing that along, be nice! You just met him!” Dave looked helplessly around the room in search of where Ben might be but Klaus had already settled back into his pillows closing his eyes. Dave prodded his mouth with the spoon and Klaus pursed his lips into a pout. 

 

“Klaus eat this now or I swear to god I will shove this spoon up your nose.” Dave said shocking everyone, Diego narrowed his eyes at the threat of violence against his brother, however trivial it seemed. Klaus suppressed a tired fond smile, Dave would have to knock the nasal cannula (which they had changed him to _again_ in hopes he would participate in the family meeting, or maybe in hopes that he would eat…) away in order to carry out his threat. And he knew he wouldn’t do that.

 

“I’ve met god and she doesn’t even really like me so- hey!” Whatever horrifying thing Klaus was about to say or imply was cut off by Dave taking the handle of the spoon and gently taping it onto Klaus’s nose.

 

“To be fair I did warn you.” Klaus opened his big green eyes and looked at Dave, who was still holding the spoon backwards, the head of it against his closed palm, looking rather pleased with himself, head cocked to the side in innocence.

 

Klaus tried to put out a dramatic little cough of indigence but ended up in a real coughing jag, lost in his own lungs for a moment, before Dave’s steady hands on is back and at his elbow brought him back. Klaus re-settled and closed his eyes body deflating even more, the repeated coughing having sapped the burst of energy seeing Dave again seemed to bring to him. Dave once again took his face in his hands and rubbed his calloused thumb over Klaus’s cheek.

 

“Hey.” Klaus opened one eye and gave a small smile.

 

“Hey yourself.” Dave nodded and set the spoon aside and re arranged himself so he was sitting on the bed closer to Klaus, settling one arm around his shoulders to hold him closer. Tugging the bowl and spoon carefully along with him so he could still reach it.

 

Pogo cleared his throat sharpening their attention to the chimp once again.

 

“Grace was able to confirm something that your father suspected for a while and was attempting to study further when you became…uncooperative.” Diego snorted.

 

“A fancy way to say he stopped being complacent with blatant abuse.” Pogo nodded once severely, acknowledging Diego’s snide comment, before he went on.

 

“Sir Hargraves believed that Master Klaus was able to see and commune with spirits because he existed in a space that was between the two planes, that of the spiritual and that of the living.” Pogo set his cane aside and held out each of his palms cupped in a claw one by one separately to illustrate. Klaus nodded thoughtfully, allowing Dave to slip him another spoon of broth through the corner of his mouth, the spoon hovering to catch any dribble. It actually made some amount of sense, he sometimes couldn’t tell when people were alive and when they were dead. And he knew that his connection with death went deeper than being able to just see the dead; beyond that he could sense death, and he also couldn’t seem to die.

 

Pogo went on, “meaning that Master Klaus’s system is constantly at war with itself,” Pogo brought his hands together violently crashing the two spheres together clasping his hands together violently and tightly, “life and death existing in the same body, so many of the resources your body would normally have access to are being used in just winning that fight, you father believed your system just didn’t have the energy to maintain a fully functioning immune system as well.” Klaus nodded slightly and opened his mouth to say something but Ben cut in.

 

“He’s right. Whenever you have a seizure, it’s like…like your soul- or your ghost- whatever… is caught between leaving your body and staying in it.” As Klaus tried to process that he realized that Pogo had been speaking simultaneously with Ben. Which was common, ghosts didn’t often wait for the living to finish speaking in order to talk, sometimes it was like ghosts couldn’t even _see_ the living. Klaus sometimes had to pick the living voices out over the dead, he wasn’t very good at it, in any sea of voices Klaus was always more than likely to latch on to and listen to Ben’s. It was familiar, consistent and constant, always there.

 

“… wanted to test the limits of the strength of which Klaus would cling to life...” Diego looked like he was badly and barely suppressing anger, and Dave’s grip on Klaus tightened slightly. Klaus tired not to wince too badly, it hurt but in a good way, in a way that reassured him, that he was alive, that Dave was alive.

 

“He tried to kill him?” Diego growled his agreement with Dave eyes narrowing even further as if he intended to dig Reginald up just to kill Reginald again. Even though he had been cremated. Pogo shook his head.

 

“Not quite, but he chose not to…”

 

“It doesn’t matter.” Klaus said hoarsely laying his head back on to Dave’s chest. “If he did try I mean.” Dave looked confused and somewhat hurt.

 

“Klaus… if…” Klaus shook his head and moved his eyes up to look at Luther. Not having or not wanting to use the energy to move his whole head.

 

“Do you remember, in the club that night… with the girl – the furry - and her- her boyfriend?” Luther looked around, awkward eyes shifting from Allison to Klaus to Diego. Not bothering with Five who looked irritated or Vanya who hadn’t even been there. Klaus had been kind thus far in not mentioning to any of the other siblings what had happened between him and Luther that day, the choking or the leaving him on the concrete floor of the rave.

 

“yeah… I mean sort of… you attacked him right?” Klaus nodded.

 

“I was protecting you, you were too drunk or… high… or whatever to notice but he was coming for you. I jumped on his back and he shook me off and I hit my head pretty bad. And I… I sort of think I died.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we are ~~~ this chapter is long!! and went through like a lot of edits I do have to say I am introducing a new OC soon! I just started to add her there is a few more chapters than a small break / time jump before you get to meet her! I also give you the nname of your big baddie (oohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh) 
> 
> I'm almost at 50,000 words like what.... I was gonna write more tonight but I also need to go to bed, and I think the last paragraph I wrote was semi-nonsense! 
> 
> I don't have much to say today, happy fourth if you're American and if your not well lucky you! 
> 
> NGF


	25. You…you what?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You…you what?

_“I was protecting you, you were too drunk or… high… or whatever to notice but he was coming for you. I jumped on his back and he shook me off and I hit my head pretty bad. And I… I sort of think I died.”_

 

* * *

 

 

“You…you what?” Diego sounded confused. Understandable.

 

“I was having a…a flashback… it was so loud…too… way too loud… and then I hit my head and I woke up and I think I was… somewhere else… there was this girl and Dad was there.” Luther looked confused. Shaking his head and beginning to pace.

 

“Wait so you never conjured Dad that night? You lied?”

 

“Technically I guess I didn’t…actually…. Conjure him…but I did speak to him… and…” Klaus’s sentence was punctuated with short bursting coughs.

 

“I can’t believe this you lied about conjuring dad! You are all so willing to jump on Dad’s case when we find out about something that he kept from us! And now we’re lying to each other!” Five looked annoyed by the very concept that there was a comparison to be had.

 

“A major difference is that Dad actually blatantly lied. Klaus _did actually_ speak to Dad and get relevant info which is essentially not that different from if he had conjured him. Dad out and out told us that Vanya didn’t have powers and neglected to tell us that Klaus had seizures… We’re getting off topic with technicalities, Klaus if you died in the club how did you come back?” Five dismissed Luther’s anger with his own.

 

“I dunno, but I kinda think I can’t or it’s hard for me to die.” Five hummed for him to elaborate, shaking his head at his own lack of understanding, so Klaus went on, “Ok so, I’ve really beaten the hell out of the odds…on Death from overdose, or just like in general for junkies living on the streets… like, I’ve overdosed…. How…How… many… times?” Ben shrugged shaking his head and watching Klaus carefully, “Right even Ben stopped counting. I really should be dead. Like years ago should be dead.” Diego looked uncomfortable with the information on the overdoses. Eventually, Klaus had removed him as his emergency contact, whether because he didn’t want to hear it from Diego anymore or he was too ashamed, Diego would never know. However, for the first half dozen or so OD’s Diego had been called. He had hated it. He had resented Klaus every time his phone flashed with a number belonging to a shitty rundown hospital in a bad neighborhood during the dead of the night and he had to drag himself from his bed or whatever the hell else he might be doing at 2 am to go and sign off on his dumb useless junkie brother.

 

The room fell to silence and Vanya broke it, bright eyes watching Pogo with curiosity, “Do we know if anything can be done?” Pogo shook his head, looking down at his leathery hands which had fallen into his lap, still clasped.

 

“Early on, when Klaus’s health started to interfere with missions your father tried him on a very low dose of your old medication,” Pogo couldn’t meet Vanya’s eyes at the mention of those white pills, couldn’t even look up at her from his hands, the whole room tensed. Dave swore he could hear something shatter into a million pieces in a distant room, but it was probably unrelated. Vanya didn’t have powers, Klaus had told him that- she even wrote a book about it if he remembered correctly. Vanya’s fist clenched around a fold in her pants and a wind started to pick up, blowing at Pogo’s tie and fur, never the less he went on, “Not enough to suppress his powers completely, but it backfired, it made the seizures worsen and Klaus’s health deteriorated.” Vanya released her fist and held her hand wide still shaking. She closed her fist and let out a long breath. Somewhere within the house the head of Reginald’s’ prized buck fell off of the wall. For a moment, at the very height of the wind Dave could have sworn her eyes changed color, but it must have been a trick of the light. Pogo paused and the wind dissipated with the same abruptness with which it had come. Then Pogo picked up again without the wind, “Your father concluded that the medication dulled his powers, his connection to death, but also his connection to life along with it. I did not think there was a way to safely and ethically study this, and your father agreed, so other methods of study were employed.”

 

“The mausoleum?” Klaus whispered letting his head fall completely on to Dave. Pogo hesitated looking around the room to gauge the reactions of the siblings; Diego’s eyes were narrowed in suspicion, Alison’s brow creased with worry, Vanya looked shaken and hesitant hands twitching in resistance of the urge to hug herself, both Five and Luther wore their default expressions of anger and confusion respectively. Unseen to Pogo, Ben looked sad, eyes watering with a kind smile that didn’t reach his mouth directed at his brother. Pogo nodded slowly opening his mouth slightly to speak but giving it time, allowing himself to think.

 

“Yes. The thinking was that if we overexposed you to death, if you would, pardon the phrase, over dosed you on it, it would strengthen not only your connection to Death but also to life- the two seem to go together, yin and yang so to speak. As well as help you to get over your fear of the dead and strengthen your control over your powers, your father also believed that under extreme stress you may manifest new powers. To him, it was the perfect solution.” Klaus nodded closing his eyes for a moment. Then letting out a huffy and pathetic laugh.

 

“Old man played himself then. If not for the mausoleum I don’t know if I would have spiraled into the arms of my sweet lady of perpetual substances so quickly.” Pogo nodded and Grace swooped in to explain further.

 

“Also, speaking of your recent, ahem, _habits_ , the use of narcotics to dampen or _escape_ your gifts seems to have exacerbated the situation.” Klaus gave a humming noise and nuzzled into Dave who relented his quest with the soup and returned fully to his position of snuggling Klaus from behind. When it was clear Klaus harbored no intention of commenting to her, Grace chose to tie the explanation up with a bow, “the continued use of narcotics and cycle of detoxing and retoxing has left you with a severely weakened immune system, I can only predict that you will experience more seizures and further problems relating to your health as time goes on.”  

 

Klaus understood the irony of  this, Reginald wasn’t the only one who had played himself. Klaus’s complete rejection of his powers, and throwing every cent and dose of effort he had into removing himself from them likely had given way to a very similar effect as that Pogo had described of him on Vanya’s old medication, weakening his connection to both Death and Life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D guessssss who just hit 50 thousand words???? 
> 
> MEEEEEEEE
> 
> the 50, 000th word I typed was 'her' and the 50, 000th word in the document was 'teacup' ( I was adding to a previous paragraph, odly enough adding the teacup to the scene) and if this makes sense the Current 50,00th word is 'although' (bc I clocked out today at 50,054 making 'teacup' the current 50,054th yeah um just never mind though I guess I'm a weirdo for stats. 
> 
> so for the reminder of the summer I have Thursday and Friday off so I will be trying to defiantly get an update or two out around Wednesdays Thursdays and Fridays as I know I will have time to write on those days. Just so you have some predictability, I work night shifts so I'm often too tired to write at night after work and I can't write in the morning it just doesn't work for me. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for all your kind comments, sometimes I just like to go through them, so every comment it loved. As is every commenter. 
> 
> Thanks so much and keep it on the Real
> 
> NGF


	26. status report

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A status report is given

_“the continued use of narcotics and cycle of detoxing and retoxing has left you with a severely weakened immune system, I can only predict that you will experience more seizures and further problems relating to your health as time goes on.”_

 

_Klaus understood the irony of  this, Reginald wasn’t the only one who had played himself. Klaus’s complete rejection of his powers, and throwing every cent and dose of effort he had into removing himself from them likely had given way to a very similar effect as that Pogo had described of him on Vanya’s old medication, weakening his connection to both Death and Life._

 

* * *

 

 

Dave frowned and curled his arms protectively around Klaus, who hummed pleasantly into his chest.

 

“All this coupled with his injuries… the extent of which is…?” Dave looked around the room hoping finally for a full status report. Grace complied.

 

“Beyond the visible, Klaus suffered several major contusions and deep cuts, although initially we were concerned about serious internal bleeding none occurred though several of the deeper cuts were infected, he also suffered Several Broken Ribs, a total of six broken fingers – three on each hand- along with a hairline fracture on his right wrist as well as a fractured fibula on his right side. The most severe of the damage was concentrated on the left side of his body, where his collar bone was snapped – a very clean break- and the shoulder joint on that side was also displaced. The entire left leg was mutilated with nearly all the bones being broken from the hip down to the toes. I predict it will be a year if not more before he will be able to place any weight on his left leg, if ever, it is highly unlikely that he will ever walk unaided.” Grace finished with a kind yet sad and caring smile directed at Klaus.

 

Klaus turned his head fully into Dave’s chest and tried very hard not to cry. He failed and tears leaked from his eyes readily. To some extent he had understood the severity of his injuries. It wasn’t actually surprising that he was going to be permanently disabled by this. At the same time to hear his mother come out and say it like that hurt, it forced him to realize, painfully, suddenly, what Andrew had really done to him. Andrew had taken away his freedom, his foot, his leg, everything. His foot and leg were still attached but now they were according to Grace, nothing more than a useless hunk of flesh. And, to top it all off his immune system was heavily compromised, and, AND he was going to have more seizures.

 

It wasn’t FAIR. He was getting clean now, Dave was here now, and he was learning to control his powers now, but now rather than… getting a job, staying sober and showing Dave how wonderful it was to be gay in 2019… he was going to be an invalid. Dave wouldn’t get to see the wonders of the modern world because Dave would be stuck at his stupid bedside playing his nursemaid. The worst part of it all is that he knew Dave would stay with him, and be so fucking nice about it, Dave would say that he was happy to be anywhere with Klaus. Rather than marching in a pride parade Dave would be helping Klaus to the bathroom. Rather than having domestic sober bliss Klaus would likely have to pop several prescriptions a day just to keep him alive and slightly functional.

 

The very worst part of Klaus, the darkest part of him was glad, was grateful, selfishly gleeful that Dave would miss out on all the same things that he would, that he had someone to suffer with, that part was quickly squashed by guilt and sadness, and a very clear and crisp vision. It was almost like Klaus could see the future, maybe Dave would grow to resent him and they would fight but Dave would stay out of an immense sense of duty- the same reason he had stayed in the damn war so long rather than just fucking leaving with the briefcase and Klaus the moment they knew they were in love. And then one day Klaus would drown in the bathtub, and Dave would let him. It was all laid out, horrible and plain and right there before his eyes.

 

“Look at me.” It was Dave, Klaus must have been crying too hard or something. “Hey, Klaus _. Look at me please darling_.” Klaus peeked hand still balled in Dave’s shirt snot and tears running down his face in ugly rivers. Unwilling and unable to let him go even now that he knew what it meant for him. For both of them. Dave smiled at him. Gentle and good and so so convinced that everything was going to be okay. “ _Klaus_.” Dave put everything into that one word. Everything he had, and for a moment Klaus saw a different future, one that was too good, so perfect, one that he _wanted_. One with hot pink wheelchairs and a happy cozy first floor apartment, a Dog with a funny name and a little neon vest that barked when he had seizures and cuddled him when he didn’t feel well. A future with Dave and Klaus wrapped in rainbows as Dave pushed Klaus at top speed down the street at Pride, flag flying out behind them as they cackled with laughter and freedom. The change was so sudden and the contrast so violent that Klaus gasped and jerked away. Dave’s hand fluttered around behind his head, Klaus blinked at Dave and then shifted his eyes around the room, his siblings all looked so sullen. His eyes landed on his mother again and then made their way back to Dave.

 

“Okay.” He said letting a breath out through his nose. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> B O O M there we go. I have not had time to write so it looks like until further notice this fic will update on Wednesdays/Thursdays/Fridays when I have time off. 
> 
> I was initially thinking about ending this fic here and picking up in another installment in the series but I realized that i didn't adress the plot of the guy in the first chapter of this yet I realized that because he came galloping back into the story like 'hey remember me fucker I have misery 2 cause' I kinda cant wait till you guys have the next chapter so I can call him by his 'name' 
> 
> I also have an OC coming in the chapter after next I am excited about her because I'm still getting to know her so... I hope you guys like her, what her role is will be introduced in the next chapter, then the character after that. her name I can tell you it is Alice Carter Smith. 
> 
> I will possibly be back with another chapter tomorrow. 
> 
> PS: I don't know if I'll do it but any of the (good) stuff Klaus mentions near the end I may totally write eventually ... there is an easter egg in there if you've been reading my authors notes since the start, maybe.... some hints of whats to come..... maybe... I don't know yet.... (I do have a fully formed dog character in my head for Klaus as a SD and I think he will be included so) 
> 
> :p   
> NGF


	27. Planing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> several plans are made and executed

They had to make a plan, Klaus was going to need long term care and help that was likely somewhat beyond Grace. He would need PT and someone who actually knew how to plan a recovery and adjust someone to such a major lifestyle change. It was Allison’s idea to hire a private Nurse to come in and help, Pogo and Grace both agreed that it was the best option. Both Diego and Luther insisted they find someone discreet and highly vetted and do multiple background checks. Dave would have likely agreed if he knew what the hell they were talking about, or even had the full details of the situation. Allison waved them both off and assured them that she knew of the perfect agency to help match them up with someone, there was no serious rush, Klaus was still in very early recovery and Grace could handle most of it for the time being, once he beat back the lingering chest infection further arrangements could be made. Though Grace did point out that there may be some value in brining someone on early if the plan was for them to take over the majority of his care and planning of his recovery. There was also the tricky mater of Dave.

 

Dave was legally dead. Very legally dead. Legally dead in a way that there was no reversing. He also knew nothing about living in the 2000’s. No one was really sure what to do, Dave needed papers, documentation to establish him as a person in 2019. Five suggested jumping back to 1989 and filing a birth certificate on what would have been Dave’s birthday and then jumping forward and filing and forging documents as needed at the appropriate times. This solution in theory was the best and cleanest but in practice the riskiest. Five’s newly developed powers over time seemed scary and unpredictable. He seemed quite confident that he had figured out his limitations in the park with the flowers, but no one was quite certain, as they had yet to see it for themselves. And as Diego readily pointed out he had been stuck in the wrong time before, who’s to say it definitely wouldn’t happen again?

 

The idea that they simply let the public know about time travel was even thrown around for a while, but that would involve confirming to whoever had hired Andrew that the Umbrella Academy was making a sort of comeback, and everyone begrudgingly agreed that they needed to play everything close to the chest until they knew everything about Andrew and who had hired him and why. All the correspondence they found at Andrew’s apartment were only signed by someone called ‘The Clock Keeper’ and that didn’t give them very much to go on.

 

Surprisingly it was Luther who was able to conjure a solution to the Dave situation. It turned out that any time there was any kind of spaceflight the government just had to get involved. Luther had managed to Spaceboy his way in to having a few friends in the government. Specifically in, the FBI and NSA, two organizations that were quick to help the Hargraves to re-maintain the status quo of the time continuum in the name of national security. If people found out there was a Gay Solider from Vietnam living in 2019 with a robot and a chimp there would be pandemonium. However, now anyone with access to google and a healthy overdose of determination, could find out that the David Katz born in 1938 and the David Katz born in 1989 were two completely different people who weren’t even related. Life was full of very strange coincidences and David was a very common name, particularly among Jewish men.

 

Dave’s integration into 2019 and the Hargraves household was a rather bumpy one. Which was frankly comforting after the delicate and unnerving smoothness in which Andrew and integrated himself. Dave was much less smooth, and had to be reminded of Luther’s name serval times, which Diego found endlessly hilarious, and may have even corrected him away from the right name once or twice. Dave was also unable to understand that Grace was not human and continued to offer her food and time to rest. He was also baffled by most technology making what would be the most helpful tool for him, Google, into more of a nightmare. Dave also quickly became comfortable correcting and scolding the siblings, making it clear that his main priority was Klaus, any plan that he did not think put Klaus’s best interests at heart was a plan that Dave did not approve of. They even discovered Dave had tried to get Klaus hired as a cook in Vietnam to keep him off the front lines. It also became painfully obvious Klaus had shared some of his siblings less-than-proudest moments somewhere within those trenches. Dave took the first opportunity to blast them off for not noticing when Klaus had been taken by Hazel and Cha-Cha.

 

It had taken about three days after Dave’s arrival at the house to get his identity sorted, though in those three days he left Klaus’s side rarely. Klaus was still suffering from an on and off fever and was still being forced to wear the oxygen mask at night and when he slept which was often. Pogo had not yet broached the subject of the feeding tube hoping to discuss the subject with whichever Nurse they hired. Grace and Pogo had interviewed 4 candidates in the past three days with no standouts, the fifth was set to arrive at any moment but Klaus was making them late.

 

“I can’t stand it anymore Dave! I need a proper bath!” Dave looked annoyed but fond and Grace was chewing at her lips, nervous.

 

“Darling your foot-“ Grace began only to get cut off.

 

“is super infected I know, it can’t get wet but can’t you just put it in a plastic bag or something? Please?” Dave sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

 

“Babe do you really want to take that chance?” He asked, setting down the sponge he had taken from Grace.

 

“Yes! Please? We can prop it up it won’t even go in the bathtub!” Grace’s mouth formed a hard line as she looked off to the side, calculating. Diego cut in.

 

“Klaus, the bathtub is upstairs.”

 

“That’s even better! I haven’t left this bed or room in for- _ever_ Diego I’m going nuts.”

 

“You were already nuts” Grace looked back at Dave and let out a sigh.

 

“Klaus honey it’s just not safe I’m sorry, maybe next week.” Klaus whined.

 

“It’s not fair, I don’t like getting a sponge from my mom bath in front of my boyfriend.” Dave felt his heart swell at the casual use of the word. Grace pushed Klaus’s hair back gently.

 

“Alright sweetie we can compromise, everyone out.” She waved her hands at them dismissively. Klaus whined again.

 

“But I don’t want Dave to go!” Klaus whinned pouting like a child, Diego groaned heavily.

 

“You just said you didn’t want him to see!”

 

“Dave has _seen_ me naked Diego!”

 

“Oh my god please stop talking.” Klaus stuck his tongue out at his brother and then turned his big puppy eyes to Grace.

 

“Can’t Dave just do it alone?” Grace gave Dave a once over and then nodded. He had proven himself rather competent. She trusted him.

 

“Alright, Pogo and I have a meeting to get to anyways, Dave if you need anything please call for Pogo or myself.”  Dave gave a small but serious salute as Grace ushered everyone out, even Diego who only protested minimally, he trusted Dave more and more by the day. He did make sure to give him one of his more threatening glares as he was backed out of the room by his mother. Grace closed the doors behind her, leaving Klaus and Dave truly alone for the first time since Dave’s arrival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poof there you are, you all get to meet Alice in the next chapter, she is not the Service Dog character I hinted at though I think she will lead to it, any guess who she is???
> 
> also our Baddie is called THE CLOCK KEEPER more on him later 
> 
> Ta-ta for now!!
> 
> NGF


	28. Alice Carter Smith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rich people. Figures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> umm I would like to once again state that I know nothing about medicine and besides having a few friends who are nursing students nothing about nurses. the only 2 times I was near a bunch of nurse stuff was when I was in the hospital and when I had to pick up a nursing dummy that my theater dept. was borrowing from the nursing dept. for a show I was in.

Alice Carter Smith looked from the address on her phone and back to the dark and looming manor before her. When her agency had called she had been hesitant but highly interested, the only jobs they dared to offer her were the boring and short-term ones, never anything that made any real used of her skills.

 

Mainly she got things that involved spoiled rich brats whose mothers were so certain their darling was dying and the occasional short-term home care of some hideously over paid CEO with some minor ski related injury. Or an old money man with a far too young wife laid up with a case of pneumonia.

 

It was all boring and involved snobbish and stuck up people, and not at all what she had hoped to do when she became a nurse; she was trained in recovery techniques from serious and permeant injuries and long-term care with a focus on achieving independence for the patient making her overqualified to empty the bed pans of old creeps, but she refused to work with drunk drivers and most of the serious injuries the agency got fell under that umbrella. Rich people. Figures. And she _needed_ to work for the agency, she couldn’t raise her niece and nephew on a regular nurse’s pay check, so dying old men and stuffy trophy wives it was.

 

 This call however peaked her interest just in the mystery surrounding it all, and she couldn’t help but hope that maybe this would be the interesting call she had been waiting for. It was long-term, and would utilize her PT training but that was about all she or the agency knew. The secretary said that the women who had called hadn’t been very specific on the phone, for all Alice knew it was a spoiled private school boy that had crashed his Ferrari while hammered and caused nerve damage to his arm. Which was a case she would not be able to take.

 

 Her interest was piqued by all the cloak and dagger secrecy, and the fact that four other very good nurses from her agency had been turned away already. It struck her as a challenge, and boy did Alice Carter Smith like nothing more than a challenge.

 

She slipped from her car; sensible shoes landing firmly on the wet pavement. It was proving to be a colder than average fall and was in general looking to be a miserable winter. Armed only with her briefcase and her good sense she marched up to the door, lightly tapping around the puddles on her way. She felt slightly under dressed in her plain but professional clothes when faced with the grandeur of the manor but rapped on the door three times firmly with her fist anyways. There were two umbrellas illustrated lavishly in the doors artifice which tickled somewhere at her memory, some connection between umbrellas and this particular address.

 

In just under a moment a gorgeous blonde woman opened the door. The woman was dressed in blindingly clean clothes and looked as though she had stepped from the pages of a 1940s Sears catalog. Unknown to Alice that was precisely where Reginald had lifted her design from.

 

“Good afternoon, are you Mrs. Alice Smith?” Alice nodded extending her hand for the woman to take which she did, giving her a firm but not unfriendly handshake. 

 

“Miss, actually. But, yes, Alice Carter Smith the agency sent me.” The women smiled brightly and led her into the house which was impressively large, yet dark and almost gloomy. More a museum than a home.  

 

“It is very nice to meet you Miss. Smith, you may call me Grace,” Grace helped Alice with her coat before motioning for her to follow her to the second floor, “Follow me to the library so we can go over some paper work and then have a chat.” Alice couldn’t see anyone else in the house but the hallway was so dark that anyone could be watching her from the shadows, and it felt like they were.

 

Paperwork before the interview? That _was_ odd. Alice steeled herself and followed the woman deeper into the bowels of the house, taking comfort in the fact that all four candidates that had interviewed here before her had come back un-harmed. And that she had seen a scrap or two in her day and had no doubt she could knock this housewife to her ass if the need came about.

 

Grace led her to a dusty library and motioned for her to sit at a small tea table with three chairs; two facing one. Grace seated herself one of the two and Alice took the lone chair that was clearly meant for her, the third chair was empty for the moment. Grace poured herself a cup of tea and went through the pleasantries of offering Alice her own cup. Grace gathered some papers on the table and shuffled them about before passing a form to Alice. Alice took the form and looked at it. Across the top the words “ **NON-DISCLOUSER AGREEMENT** ” announced the forms intent in bold and un-questionable letters. She tried not to roll her eyes as, the agency had their own version on file for all employees, since they dealt with the fabulously wealthy and the staggeringly famous- discretion was one of their top selling points, and yet every house she went into had her sign another one.

 

Grace innocently took a delicate sip of her tea waiting to see what Alice would do, two out of four so far had refused to sign the NDA before they knew what was going on, and a total of three asked about the Umbrella Academy as soon as they had been seated.

 

 

 Alice glanced it over, it was a rather standard gag, the wording was far more severe than was normal for these types of things it was specific about whatever she may ‘see’ or any information she might ‘acquire’ during her time in the manor or around its inhabitants regardless of her employment within the manor. She signed it, not having any interest in gossip. If these people truly needed her help it would be a hideous thing to dump their secrets into the tabloids. Plus, she was far too curious to turn back now, it felt like she was living in a game of Clue and she just had to win.

 

She gave the papers a final once over before passing them back to Grace, who nodded and rang a small bell that she got from the table. A chimp in a suit promptly entered the room and took the third chair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there she is Folks Alice Carter Smith. What do we all think? as I said in the opening note i don't know much about nurses and what trainings they can / can't have but uhhh like this is story about a guy who can see ghosts who is dating a gay solider from nam' whom is brother who is like 80 but looks 13 had to jump back and time and save from being killed to get so like is a nurse having this certain skill set so unbelievable? 
> 
> I've been binging stranger things so I can watch the third season I just finished season 2 which I couldn't remember anything about except that Steve was the Bestest Babysitter. such a good show. El and Klaus would get along but Klaus would be like her vodka aunt and Hopper would just be stressed in the background. 
> 
> NGF


	29. in no way, shape, or form, a veterinarian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a shortie ;)

_She gave the papers a final once over before passing them back to Grace, who nodded and rang a small bell that she got from the table. A chimp in a suit promptly entered the room and took the third chair._

 

* * *

 

 

The chimp was using a cane to walk and for a second Alice had the urge to say that she was in no way, shape, or form, a veterinarian or trained to deal with animals but Grace cut off her interruption.

 

“I would like to at this moment to assure you that _Pogo_ here is perfectly safe to be around. Some of the women who were sent before you had concerns about their safety in the presence of… what was it?”

 

“An ape-like beast.” Pogo said with utter disdain, before turning to address Alice directly. “Now, I would like to point out to you as you signed our Non-Disclosure - rather readily as it would seem- and that what you just agreed to, does prevent you from informing anyone of my existence, you could see how that may be somewhat of a problem for us hmm?” Alice’s eyebrows were lost somewhere in her hairline but she nodded her agreement anyhow.

 

“Right, of course Mr. ah- Pogo was it?”

 

“Doctor.”

 

“Right.” Alice was out of her depth but she had been right -she had been so right this case was endlessly interesting and she didn’t even know the patient yet.

 

“No one would believe you anyways I’m afraid.” Pogo mused swirling his tea delicately and leaning himself back in his chair and setting his cane to the side.

 

“Miss. Smith, are you familiar with the Umbrella Academy?” Grace asked kindly filling Pogo’s teacup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this was so short. by the by I was looking at my chapter titles recently and whole shit they are insane I'm insane. 
> 
>  
> 
> See yall soonish 
> 
> NGF


	30. The Clock Keeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The man frowned the severe expression looking natural around his white mustache.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little more for ya

The Clock Keeper was furious it had been so long – too long since Andrew Stryker had died. Number Two had killed him – of course– that one had always been such a hot-head in his youth. Full of temper, always boiling, in many ways that was comforting. The Clock Keeper liked things that he could predict. Liked things that ran predictably, this though, this he did not like.

 

The Academy was clearly back in some form or another, back together, all six living in the same house. Seven more likely as Number Six tended to follow Number Four- he had to assume that Number Six was also there and also a potential threat, particularly with the extreme emotional turmoil Four was likely experiencing. This was decently good, and to some extent made things better, easier - them all being in the same place gave him less places to place spies and keep tabs on. But with them all in the same room, let alone the same house the probability and timeline of the ever impending apocalypse both began to close in on him. He snapped his pocket watch shut, every second he wasted was a second he couldn’t get back. He shoved the trinket into his breast pocket hearing a dull clink when it made contact with the other object there. His assistant appeared before him, clipboard in hand looking just as startled to be brought into this world as the first time.

 

“Anything new?”

 

“They have terminated their ongoing communications with the American government Sir, we weren’t able to get much just a name: David Katz.”  The man frowned the severe expression looking natural around his white mustache.

 

“Anything else?” He asked clearly growing unhappier by the moment.

 

“They are interviewing the Fifth candidate now sir.” He brought his fist down on to his desk rattling the old candy bowl that still stood there, why did he keep it? Sentiment? Perhaps.

 

“What have I told you about that word?”

 

“It- I- Time is relative, sir.”

 

“Correct, what is ‘now’ for us is not always now for the _Umbrella Academy_ not all members anyways. Do you have any good news?” she squirmed into action flipping through her clipboard that he really out to allow her to replace with a data pad. 

 

“We were able to determine that only two of the four previous candidates signed the NDA and saw the chi-“

 

“Pogo.”

 

“Yes. Pogo.” She squeaked. 

 

“What are you waiting for? Where are they?” She fumbled with a map for a few seconds before setting it on his desk and pointing where the first of the women lived, he left for his destination without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am posting this even though I don't think I will write tonight, I do want you all to know that this chapter has been HEAVILY edited I went back and forth on what details to include, this is full of both red-herrings and real clues about the Clock keeper. I'm trying to both foreshadow so the twist makes sense but keep it... twisty. I had to edit out somme clues I thought they were too obvious IDK IDK 
> 
>  
> 
> keep it twisty 
> 
> NGF


	31. Yes. And?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Any hospital would have amputated that foot, and most of the leg too.” Grace raised her eyebrows sitting back in her chair to take a sip of tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhMMMM Grace drinks tea in this chapter . IDK if she can do that? but she does.

 

Alice glanced at Grace and Pogo over the bundle of papers in her hand, both were watching her with different yet equal kinds of intensity and curiosity. She flopped the x-rays and charts down on to the table where they let off a puff of air tussling the other papers and documents lightly and disturbing the dust that seemed to float everywhere in the dimly lit room.

 

“Well?” said Grace eagerly, they hadn’t gotten to this point with any of the other candidates, Alice was clearly a tough but brilliant women. Initially Grace was concerned that Pogo’s appearance may have sent her into some sort of shock but if it did she recovered remarkably quickly and immersed herself fully in the interview process. She was more than qualified- perfect for the job actually. They had given her some of Klaus’s medical documents, a sort of ‘field test’ to see what she would recommend. They hadn’t been able to get any outside medical opinions on his condition yet, only her and Pogo had seen the files that were now scattered around the table before them.

 

“Any hospital would have amputated that foot, and most of the leg too.” Grace raised her eyebrows sitting back in her chair to take a sip of tea.

 

“Yes. And?” she dismissed over the rim of the teacup that probably cost more than anything Alice would ever own.

 

“Not And, But. Any hospital would have amputated that foot, and most of the leg too _but_ , I think that you were right to leave it, that was a risk I would have fought for had I been there.” Grace nodded, Alice set down her teacup, “But I have to meet him.”

 

“Pardon?” Pogo said the moment caught him leaning forward while pouring himself another cup of tea, one weathered hand on the delicate handle of the antique green teapot and the other holding the lid on.

 

This was at the very least his second cup, the three of them had been there for quite a while, talking. First, they had to explain to her the incredible batch of circumstances that had led to the three of them being gathered in the room; Five, the Apocalypse, Andrew, the Umbrella Academy (as soon as Grace had mentioned the name a flood of memories of old news reels came back to her, The Umbrella Academy, those children that book everyone had been raving about for weeks how could she have forgotten?), and even fricking time travel. Now Alice Carter Smith knew it all. Whether she wanted to or not. It was incredible, and she couldn’t help but feel that not only would she be sued into oblivion but also possibly never seen again if she broke the NDA that now sat somewhere in one of the files scattered across the table. They were offering her trust, and she got the feeling that those who broke the trust of the Hargraves found themselves in more than dire situations. She couldn’t help but marvel that they were willing to trust anyone. Then again, they didn’t seem to have much of a choice.

 

“The Patient, Klaus, I have to meet him before I can decide if I want to accept this job.” Pogo looked to Grace in astonishment. Grace simply cocked her head to the side slightly keeping her eyes locked with those of Alice, tea cup raised slightly above its saucer.

 

“Of course. You should meet Klaus, if he doesn’t like you this won’t work.” Alice stood picking up her briefcase.

 

“It won’t, now will it?” She said keeping her own eyes locked with Grace’s. Grace suddenly burst into a kind and gorgeous smile rewarding Alice for her boldness with trust.

 

“Well then if you would just follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOOEEEEE I was going to write and post yesterday but this lady came in after closing and WOULDNT FUCKING LEAVE so I got home really late. also like man I you guys are BEHIND I went to see what I had to post next and i was like oh shit the last thing I posted was the CLOCK KEEPER? after some of this bit with Alice I'm going to start skipping ahead in time a bit here and there there wise it's going to just be a lot of.... Klaus sleeping.....but I've also decided I am 100% writing this for me this is my whump and recovery fantasy with a side of plot but I do appreciate your comments. If I crave this kind of stuff someone else must right? RIGTH?? 
> 
> XOXO  
> NGF


	32. Well I’ve made it this far haven’t I?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace led her back down the stairs and into the hall she had entered through, in the time that they had been in the library a small seemingly random assortment of people had gathered there.

_“The Patient, Klaus, I have to meet him before I can decide if I want to accept this job.” Pogo looked to Grace in astonishment. Grace simply cocked her head to the side slightly keeping her eyes locked with those of Alice, tea cup raised slightly above its saucer._

 

_“Of course. You should meet Klaus, if he doesn’t like you this won’t work.” Alice stood picking up her briefcase._

_“It won’t, now will it?” She said keeping her own eyes locked with Grace’s. Grace suddenly burst into a kind and gorgeous smile rewarding Alice for her boldness with trust._

_“Well then if you would just follow me.”_

 

* * *

 

 

Grace led her back down the stairs and into the hall she had entered through, in the time that they had been in the library a small seemingly random assortment of people had gathered there. She recognized Allison instantly from the movies that her niece was always watching on late night television. Hargraves. That was it, that was the name, that was the family, more and more connections were made the longer she stayed.

 

Besides Allison there was also a very young boy – about her niece’s age actually- and a young man wearing tight leather and several very visible large knives, the largest man she had ever seen and a pretty young women who she recognized from the book cover, Vanya her name was if memory served. Allison turned around and gave her a tight polite smile, before focusing back on Grace and Pogo.

 

“Mom, it’s been a long time do you think they’re done yet?” She asked Grace, clearly anxious and hoping ‘they’ would be. The man with the knives stalked angrily over to the double doors that Alice had failed to notice when she had first been shown through. He bent down to peak through the crack but was interrupted by a smack to the back of the head by Allison.

 

“Diego!” The man with the leather and the knives was called Diego apparently, she really wished she had paid more attention to the Umbrella Academy when it was popular, then again how was she supposed to know she’d end up here? Diego, rubbed a hand over the back of his head where she had hit him. He looked more annoyed than actually hurt. Which made sense, they were siblings.

 

“Don’t hit me! I’m trying to keep our brother safe!”

 

“You were being a peeping tom! Dave is giving Klaus a _bath._ ” Allison drawled. Alice almost had to laugh, it reminded her so clearly of her and James when they were children arguing over everything and twisting each other’s actions and words to get what they wanted. Never in a way that was actually serious though, the bickering was always concentrated on the stupidest of things, and was at least in part to annoy their mother.

 

“Children! I would like to introduce Miss. Alice Carter Smith.” Diego’s eyes immediately trained on Alice. There was a blazing fire behind those eyes that made her very uncomfortable with the amount of weapons he had strapped to him. Particularly since he drew a knife and began to toss it up and down. Catching it without even so much as a glance, a memory tingled in the back of her mind about one of the Umbrella children and throwing knives. She straightened herself and reminded the fear in her gut that this guy clearly wanted her to be afraid of him, he was like a dad who cleaned his shotgun on prom night, ultimately good intentioned and harmless. She had done nothing wrong so he had no reason to hurt her. The fire in his eyes however said that if she did do something wrong he wouldn’t hesitate. She had to respect that.

 

As if by magic, the young boy was standing toe to toe with her in a second. He gave her a very blatant once over and then spoke to Grace without moving his eyes from Alice;

 

“Is this woman to be Klaus’s nurse?” Alice felt moved to answer for herself.

 

“I’m not sure if I want to accept the job yet.” She said standing her ground and keeping the surprised quiver firmly locked in her belly. The boy gave her an ear-splitting smile that almost activated her flight or fight response.

 

“What makes you so sure we’ll offer you the job?” He spoke to her as if she were a toddler that he found particularly annoying clipping his words like he was loading a gun. Alice raised her eyebrows,

 

“Well I’ve made it this far haven’t I?” right at that moment the doors slid open to reveal a classically handsome young man dressed simply in a t-shirt and jeans, both were rumpled a bit. He had a sponge in his left hand. Immediately the attention in the room was diverted to him. He opened his mouth to speak but there was a whine and a weak cough from somewhere in the room behind him.

 

“Dave! I’m cold come back!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there!! 
> 
> I started re-watching TUA today and I realized that Klaus is the first person we hear talk if you don't count regie and the Russian in the intro, I'm pretty sure at least. I actually made a noise of displeasure when Harold / Leonard appeared I was like....... no. Also like I forgot that Cha-Cha just casually was also Mary J. Blige bc I was never a fan of her music so I like don't think of her as Mary J. Blige It's just that woman who plays Cha-Cha and then her name came up on the bottom of the screen and I was all.... wait what? lol 
> 
>  
> 
> anyways I hope your day is grrrrrrrrrr8 
> 
> NGF


	33. A challenge in more ways than one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Whatever you say Al.” A challenge in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UhhMMMM I almost wrote the words 'vigilant vigil' durring this chapter

_“Well I’ve made it this far haven’t I?” right at that moment the doors slid open to reveal a classically handsome young man dressed simply in a t-shirt and jeans, both were rumpled a bit. He had a sponge in his left hand. Immediately the attention in the room was diverted to him. He opened his mouth to speak but there was a whine and a weak cough from somewhere in the room behind him._

_“Dave! I’m cold come back!!”_

 

* * *

 

Even having seen the X-rays, charts, and files beforehand Klaus’s condition was a sight to behold. She could tell instantly that he was running a fever and from his ragged and wheezy breathing he should probably be on oxygen. He was clearly underweight leading to an unhealthy skeletal-thin appearance and taking the word frail to a whole new level. His too prominent cheeks were highlighted with a smear of fever blush and his lips were parted to allow shallow breaths to pull his chest up and down. He didn’t seem to be putting any effort into holding himself up, his body was simply slumped against the innumerable pillows like a rag doll, the clear posture of someone who was in too much pain to be comfortable, but too comfortable to be in complete agony. His bony shoulders were wrapped in a thick fuzzy blanket and he had many stuffed animals tucked around him. He looked somewhat like a strange mishmash of a sickly child in a modern-day children’s ward and an invalid from the 1800’s. He was nestled in what resembled a giant nest more so than a bed and she instantly felt approval flood over her. The bed looked comfortable and was in a central enough position in the house to allow him to be observed, and it was a place where he was at ease but wouldn’t feel he was missing or separated from his family, it was homey, not sterile and impersonal like a hospital room would be. It was like when someone had a bad cold but chose to sleep on the couch rather than alone in their room.

 

Klaus blinked in surprise as soon as she was well within his field of vision. His hair was wet and there was the clear and crisp smell of soap and freshness about the room. The room itself matched the rest of the house to a degree, it was stuffy and decorated lavishly like an old museum. But in this room more than the others the feeling was different, for one the room housed a good number of medical devices and trays, even a biohazard bin, but the rest of the room had the clear signs of the siblings spending most of their time there, pillows were strewn about the floor in piles atop blankets that were spread out on the floor like there had been a picnic and all the couches had been turned in to face the bed. There was also a large projection screen set up at the end of the room. As if there had been a large and epic sleepover rather than six people plus a ghost a chimp and a robot all keeping a bedside vigil.

 

 The man who had opened the doors –Dave –set the sponge down on a nearby tray and wiggled himself into bed next to Klaus. Medically speaking, Alice wouldn’t have recommended cuddling with someone in Klaus’s condition but the way he seemed to melt into Dave’s side convinced her that the comfort Dave provided was beyond valuable. Idly she noted to herself she was already thinking of Klaus as her patient.

 

She made her way over to the clump of monitors set up behind the bed, sensible shoes (that Allison wouldn’t be caught dead in) making a low but firm tapping sound on the floor making her seem much more confident than she felt with everyone in the room watching her. Except the one whose opinion really mattered, Klaus.

 

Klaus didn’t bother to ask who the women was. He was too tired at the moment to care, instead he cuddled into Dave and shut his eyes against the advancing ache in his head. If this woman was important somebody would tell him.

 

The monitors reflected what Grace and Pogo had told her so far, he was stable and not in any immediate decline, but by no means healthy. Satisfied she turned back to the bed and came around to the side of it. Klaus had closed his eyes and let his head fall on to Dave’s chest. She cleared her throat not really wanting to disturb him but needing to accomplish at least some part of what she came down here to do. Klaus opened one eye and mumbled something at her.

 

“What?” she asked, her ears were practiced at picking up fevered mumbles but even she couldn’t decipher that.

 

“M’head hurts.” He said again shifting himself with a wince further into Dave. Then letting his eyes drift open to stare off somewhere to the left of Alice’s head. She hesitated, opening her mouth slightly when she saw it, his eyes moving slightly back and forth and back and forth the movement barely detectable- almost like he was reading something invisible that only he could see. She had been told he saw ghosts but unless they regularly held up books for him to read this was something else. Something she was familiar with.

 

“Get out of the bed.” She said firmly and suddenly to Dave.

 

“What? No, who the hell are you?” The pupil movement got more pronounced and erratic.

 

“He’s having a seizure. Get. Out. Now.” Alice reached a rough and strong hand out to push on Dave’s chest guiding him out of the bed firmly but slow enough that Klaus didn’t jostle. The moment he was out she was there with a pillow to replace him so Klaus didn’t slump over. Less than a second after Dave had been extracted Klaus began to twitch horribly, muscles spasaming radically. Alice sat back on her heels and waited eyes flicking to the monitors every few moments. When the spell calmed she flipped her wrist up to look at her watch. Noting the duration of the seizure. Klaus breathed out- the air catching in his lungs and causing a cough.

 

“Ow. Fuck.” Alice smiled slightly in sympathy, with his injuries that must have hurt immensely.

 

“I bet that felt good didn’t it?” she said reaching her hand up to check his pulse at his carotid artery while scanning the calming storm of monitors simultaneously. Trusting her own fingers over any tech.

 

“mm. so good, I would recommend it to everyone.” He said flopping himself around slightly as if trying to get comfortable, her strong practiced and trained hands were there to stop him, Klaus then opened his eyelids to half-mast to look at her.

 

“Breathing’s a little fast do you guys have an oxygen tank around here anywhere?” She asked the room removing her hands from him once he had settled.

 

“Noooo.” Klaus whinnied sticking his bottom lip out as far as he could. “I don’t like it!”

 

“…and I don’t care. Anyone?” Diego jumped into action pulling a face and nose mask from among the monitors. Klaus was still pouting as Diego helped him put it on. Alice frowned, “do you maybe have a nasal cannula instead?” she said and Klaus turned to her and beamed.

 

“I kinda like you what’s your name?” he said submitting to her as she began to check his wounds instantly finding two minor cuts that had been re-opened during the seizure. This one _was_ going to be a challenge.

 

“Alice. Alice Carter Smith.”

 

“ooh wow can I call you Al?”

 

“No.”

 

“Whatever you say Al.”  A challenge in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I BET yOu weren't expecting to hear from me huh?? I got off work early so I wrote tonight, I didn't actually write 1000 words yesterday so I finished that 1000 all through editing. 
> 
> in this chapter more than others I kept being like 'I'll add this detail' and then scrolling down to realize I already added it like 2 lines later, happened like 6 times. this chap also got a lot of edits tonight IDK why but sometimes when I know I'm about to post something I like add hundreds of words to it. IDK IDK   
> anywhooo have a good week / weekend / whatever everyone, as always I love comments they spur me to write and you are all so positive! I try to respond to all the ones I can come up with something clever sounding to say to! (or sometimes not) so comment I'll def read it like 500 times so. 
> 
> anyways to infinity and beyond!   
> NGF


	34. Acceptable Record

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somewhere in the house there was yelling. It sounded like Luther and Diego, who had argued almost constantly over the past few days.

After what had to have been the most eventful and surprising job interview of her life that ended with her re-stitching not two but three stab wounds. Alice was offered the job of taking over Klaus’s care and recovery. And she accepted without a moment’s hesitation. She knew she was going to from the moment she first saw Klaus lying in that bed. She also knew from the moment she saw the files that they were going to offer it to her.

 

She was perfect for the position, just as it was perfect for her, everything she had been longing for in a job rolled into one. What she didn’t expect was for the family to be so interested in her personally. One of the first things that happened after the logistics of her being hired were settled was that they offered her a room in the manor. She declined saying that she already had an apartment nearby that she loved and not wanting to get too overly involved personally in her patient, it seemed inappropriate to her. Plus, her niece and nephew lived with her and she was hesitant to bring them up with the Hargraves. However much she may like the family she had the feeling that bad things tended to happen to them and to those close to them, due to their position and circumstance. Which was starting to seem uniquely unfair to Alice, to be a child, a _baby_ for god’s sake and be thrust into this world with no choice, raised as a collection no different than the stuffed animal heads hanging on the wall. Reginald Hargraves was a particular kind of bastard. If he had still been alive Alice would have like to have words with him.

 

She still couldn’t move in though, her niece and nephew had been through enough already and did not need the kind of complication that would come with moving them (again) to a strange house with stranger people. Plus, it kept her private life private. She did agree to having a set of keys to the house as well as giving them all her personal cell phone number to use to contact her if there was an emergency when she was not there. They promised that the room was always open to her should she need or want it. She declined again knowing that what with Klaus’s condition she would end up staying there more than once anyways.  

 

She was uncertain if the Hargraves were even capable of keeping personal and private things separate and she couldn’t really even find it in her to blame them. They were all so immensely bonded by shared trauma and experiences that having someone around to whom they were not emotionally tied most likely felt somewhat threatening. Plus, with injuries of this intensity emotions tended to run high. Alice herself even had to admit that she felt moved by Klaus. He was charming in a way that she had yet to experience, he just seemed so genuine it was no wonder they were all so protective. But they had been too gentle, which was why she was so desperately needed. If Klaus was ever going to walk again he needed a small amount of tough love. Good thing that was her area of expertise.

 

After several lengthy chats with Pogo and Grace, both of whom she had decided she quite liked, it was determined that they would hold off on removal of the PICC line for now and try to slowly wean him off of it. She would like to avoid a feeding tube but with his condition what it was it may be somewhat unavoidable, either do to some future complication or in the event they couldn’t get him back to healthy weight fast enough.

 

One of the other things she did upon being handed control was demand medical records for everyone in the house, specifically vaccination records. Grace had given her a blank computing stare when she had asked, stating slowly that her only patient was Klaus. Alice nodded, and explained that when you had an immunocompromised patient everyone had to get their shots. She also wanted to know who she had to classify as a higher risk factor for germs. And since all of their health had a potential to effect Klaus, the health of the whole house was her responsibility.

 

She was horrified to discover that Allison was the only person with an acceptable vaccination record, and that Dave -who had been in bed with Klaus almost constantly since his arrival- was from the 30s, and therefor hardly vaccinated against anything. She made short work of all of this by setting up a makeshift clinic in the living room and lining everyone up, giving them all an index card with a list of shots they needed and doling out vaccines in a neat and orderly fashion. Diego fainted immediately, so she simply rolled up his sleeve and poked him as much as needed while he drooled into a throw pillow that could be used to pay off all her student debts. Klaus found it all very entertaining. His own vaccination record had some serious holes in it but that all would have to wait until she could get him on some immune-boosting medication or he was in a more stable condition. Whichever came first.

 

The next thing she did was begin to plan and discuss PT options in addition to starting him out with very light PT. Klaus was still running a rather stubborn fever and she couldn’t do anything serious until they managed to get that cleared up, but the joints that were mobile needed to move, no matter how much it ached. Alice spent forever planning out a PT regimen for Klaus, she pulled several of her old textbooks from nursing school out of storage –thank god, she kept them –and even called some old professors and colleagues. Most of the people she called were desperate to hear more about the case, the details she was able to give combined with the agency she worked for were enough to hint at something fascinating and gossip-y, but she stuck to her word and no one got a name or even the full list of injuries.

 

She stayed up several nights in a row looking over and checking, then double cross checking her plan. The sheer number of injuries was a hindrance, some exercises she would normally perscribe for one injury would only cause damage to another. Her niece caught her one night when she got up for some water to find her spread out all over the living room. Her niece hadn’t said anything to Alice about it, simply peeked in on her, nodded and then left. Curious, Alice had asked her later that day if she had been up that night. Katie had simply said;

 

“you haven’t looked that excited or happy about work since dad died.” Alice smiled tightly and hugged her niece close. She was right, Klaus’s case was a puzzle, one she had to solve, one that only she could solve, one that mattered. Eventually she had a binder full of a plan for Klaus as well as several other smaller sub plans to the main plan if the main plan didn’t work out. Klaus would walk again, she just knew it. Maybe not like he did before, and maybe with an aide but she would give that boy the ability to walk back. There was also another slimmer binder sitting by the foot of the passenger seat in her car. A plan she wasn’t so sure about yet, but thought maybe just maybe could work.

 

There were problems already, even in the earlier stages of her plan, they all presented themselves at once during what was probably only her second or so session of light PT with him, and one of, if not the most, disturbing. He was still bed-bound, and would be for a while, so they had been starting with the arms. He was going to need to be able to put weight on his arms eventually but they would start with simple mobility. Dave was sitting patiently to the side of the bed leaning his back against a couch, watching Alice work with fascination. Klaus was barely participating, it had only been a few days since she had been hired and despite the significant bump in antibiotics that she and Pogo had decided on, he was still pretty sick, some of his wounds were still rather infected and his breathing was far too raspy for her liking. But she had to start somewhere, perhaps she should have begun with respiratory therapy, if only he could beat back this infection then maybe... She was trying to get him to squeeze on to a ball with his worse hand but he kept dropping it. Finally, he dropped his hand all together and let the ball roll away glaring at it for a moment before letting his eyes fall closed.

 

“I’m so _tired_ Al.” Alice sighed and stood up from her seated position by his bedside to check the monitors, she had relented to the nickname almost instantly which almost worried her, she must be becoming attached or soft or something. Today had been a blissfully un-eventful day they didn’t have to change his bandages today, a process that had made her want to be physically ill. How one person could do that to another person, another human being made her stomach feel it was being pulled through a taffy-stretcher. It didn’t help that Klaus was sweet and so so very obviously broken in ways that she was in no way equipped to fix, in ways she knew she herself was broken.

 

Not having to change his bandages didn’t leave her with very much to do accept monitor him, try to get some food in him and help him sit forward to eject the crap that was clogging his lungs. Maybe she was rushing it, he was still sick, still weak, his wounds still fresh. Over the three days she had known him he had been sleeping for most of the time. This case was interesting but god damn if it wasn’t a bit of a slow burn, Klaus was in no condition to even think about recovery, he was just surviving.

 

BANG

 

Somewhere in the house there was yelling. It sounded like Luther and Diego, who had argued almost constantly over the past few days. Allison said it was normal, and that they couldn’t see any improvement in Klaus so it was probably borne of worry more so than real anger. Her and James had never fought like this. Even at the worst, even when they were really fighting it had never been anywhere near as venomous as the Hargraves. It had always ended with teary make-ups and hugs. The Hargraves family fights ended with slamming doors and storming out. That was when it didn’t end in violence. Alice had been forced to instate a rule she never had ever thought would ever be necessary; no violence or weapons allowed in the sick room. Even Diego was now required to strip his knives off when he entered the living room. She had toyed with the idea of issuing a decree about hand washing and general hygiene before discovering that Grace already had that part taken care of. She was used to being the only one with medical knowledge in the households she went into.

 

The yelling continued and she let out a sigh closing her eyes to run her hands through her mess of hair, when she did get time to go to her salon again she swears she’s shaving it all off. Her Auntie Chrissy would roll in her grave but she didn’t have time to keep up with keeping it straightened. Maybe she would just bring in a picture from that warrior – cat – prince movie that Liam had loved so much to her stylist and just commit. Though she was most certainly not getting her head tattooed. Though if she really just wanted to shave it maybe she could let Liam and Katie do it. They would like that it would be a fun family activity to make up for all the work she had been doing lately. She was pulled from her haired daze by a beeping monitor that mixed and harmonized with the ongoing muffled argument.

 

Klaus was breathing too fast. Far too fast. And his heart rate was climbing. She whirled as the machines whirred and came to her knees across from Dave. Klaus’s head twitched towards him and then away, sweat began to pour down his face, probably causing painful stinging to the minor scrapes that were healing and scabbing there. 

 

“Christ on a Cracker….” Klaus muttered body twitching. She had only witnessed about two of his seizures so far, so far he hadn’t spoken during them. His eyes shot open and he looked to Dave eyes unfocused and far away. “Dave? DAVE? MEDIC!” Klaus began to claw blindly at the sheets trying to untangle himself to get to Dave. Both Dave and Alice jumped at the sudden movement from Klaus both grabbing an arm to hold him down as gently as possible to prevent further injury, it didn’t take much force. Dave began to call out in blind desperation hoping his voice could offer something for Klaus to grasp and lean on.

 

“No Klaus. I’m here! I’m right here! You’re not in Nam’ you’re safe! Can you hear me?!? You’re safe!” It almost seemed to work, then they heard something break distantly in the house and it started up again. Alice felt her eyes expand into dinner plates when she realized too late he was about to have another seizure. Calling out to Dave to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thereeeeeeeeeeee <3 
> 
> uhhhhhhh I know nothing about PT I am going based on logic here, I also know very little about PTSD / seizures 
> 
> in this chapter it is not written like Dave has PTSD I'm not going to say he doesn't because to be honest I'm still figuring out Dave I did a quick google (a very quick one) that said like one third of soldiers have PTSD IDK if thats right it sorta sounds low. Dave at this point mostly exists as a romance for Klaus I guess? hes the Ken to Klaus's Barbie, I guess just... it's not about Dave... this is about... Klaus... 
> 
> SSDGM  
> NGF


	35. Tell me something about yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tell me something about yourself.” It was quiet, hoarse and the only completely coherent thing he had said since his flashback induced seizure. She looked up to meet his eyes, bright watery green meeting with deep and steady black-brown. She looked away and back to her work.
> 
> “What do you want to know?”

            This one was longer than the other two had been, and when Klaus finally surfaced he was more dazed and less in touch with reality than he had been in the past phasing in and out and constantly needing to be touching Dave. Even though every time anyone touched him he flinched away violently. Alice made the somewhat controversial choice to throw everyone who had gathered in the room due to the commotion and were making worried noises that were entirely too loud to be called mutterings out into the hall leaving her completely alone with Klaus.

 

“And keep it quiet out there!”  She turned back to her patient who lay on the bed mostly uncovered and shivering too large plaid shirt flapped open around him like a cape, she needed to find him some proper pajamas’, but that was a problem for another day. She had to clean and re-bandage a couple of wounds this time, she needed to find a way to avert his seizures or at least get more warning so he could be sedated, or somehow safely restrained, otherwise he might never be able to heal right, her mind fell to the small binder full of research in the foot well of her car.

 

She knelt silently next to the bed and began to tend to a shallow cut on his lower torso. He didn’t hinder her from touching him this time but didn’t exactly help her either, he was muttering to himself, or maybe to Ben. She hadn’t been able to meet Ben yet, Klaus wasn’t strong enough. Maybe he never would be, she had been trying to get him to squeeze a ball when he couldn’t even lift his own head.

 

“Tell me something about yourself.” It was quiet, hoarse and the only completely coherent thing he had said since his flashback induced seizure. She looked up to meet his eyes, bright watery green meeting with deep and steady black-brown. She looked away and back to her work.

 

“What do you want to know?”

 

“Anything. I don’t really know that much about you except for the fact that you’re a nurse.” She hummed and moved on to checking the next wound.

 

“Was it the yelling or the door?” She asked rather than answer him, he snorted.

 

“The door, it was loud enough and sudden enough to sound like a gunshot to me, where were you born?”

 

“Here. In the city. Has anyone in your family ever been to therapy?” he looked away wincing as she moved her work downward to check his foot. Everyone in the house was so wary of his foot, not wanting to go near it or mention it, which she thought was cruel it was like an elephant sitting in the living room. She unwrapped it and glanced at him he was looking away apparently, she had gone too far. Perhaps even literally in addition to figuratively, he also got quiet on the topic of his foot. She couldn’t blame him, but he needed to get used to the idea that his body had been changed in a serious and irreversible way, she knew that from experience.

 

She sighed and looked down at her hands, her sleeves that were just a little longer than was average for a nurse, and were never rolled up, “I still won’t get in a car.” She said keeping her eyes on his misshapen foot, she had only seen it once when they changed his bandages yesterday. Still she knew every line, cut and bruise, they were burned into her mind, seared there like a brand. She ran her fingers over it lightly, knowing he couldn’t feel it and checking for any blood or other fluid or other new problems. The foot was swollen and purple with pink and blue spots, barely resembling a foot but almost. It was crisscrossed with barely healing cuts and dark black stitches that were as neat as possible given their circumstances, there were also a few staples here and there.

 

“What?” She started to re-wrap his foot satisfied that nothing had worsened there.

 

“I still can’t get in a car. I’m too scared.” She finished as quickly as she could and moved on, nearing the end of what she had to do now that her only distraction from her work was Klaus himself. “My brother, James, and his wife and I, we were driving home after an event, he had organized it, a fundraiser for – god I don’t even remember- homelessness? Probably he managed a couple soup kitchens in the city, he worked for a non-profit that did all sorts of charity work down by the river, anyways it was late. This driver came out of nowhere the whole front of the car was destroyed the only reason I’m alive is I was in the back seat. He and his wife liked to hold hands when they drove. I found out later that the other driver got away fine. Not a scratch” She rolled up her sleeve to show a burn scar that extended from her elbow to her shoulder, there were more extending across her chest and other arm, down as far as her pelvis with another small burst on her right calf. Klaus reached up and took her arm running his fingers lightly over the horrible scars marring her otherwise smooth and strong arm. His stark white hand made a drastic comparison against her ebony limb. He dropped his hand and looked at her again with imploring and understanding eyes. “He was drunk.” She finished quietly tucking the blankets back over him neatly and precisely, but not without warmth in her heart and hands, and then turning away. “The other guy was drunk and now my niece and nephew live with me because they don’t have parents anymore.” She stood and disposed of the used bandages in the biohazard station at the corner of the living room that more closely resembled an OR at the moment.  Klaus was quiet.

 

“Which shelters?”  She turned back to him unsure where he was taking this, he wouldn’t look at her. His eyes were distant and guarded something that seemed so out of character to her, then again, she didn’t know him that well.

 

“There were two that I know for sure that he managed personally, but the organization he worked for had several more, one was over on King’s Highway by the river, the other was up on Mechanic street.” Klaus nodded solemnly.

 

“I know both.” He said quietly. Looking down at his hands and pulling a small stuffed dinosaur from somewhere among the blankets and tucking it so it was under his arm letting his head flop closer to the toy’s snout. “I think I might have met him, once or twice on the Shelter up on Kings? He was nice to me he gave me an extra roll. Said I was too skiny.” Klaus closed his eyes, “Then again it might not have been him it could have been just a random volunteer I was pretty out of it back then.” He mused trying to settle himself again.  “Where’s Davey?” Alice was confused for a long moment.

 

“You…you… were…you were homeless?” Klaus opened one eye to her and nodded slowly.

 

“They didn’t tell you? I was a drug addict, or I _am_ a drug addict. Since I was 13. I lived on the streets for a few years after I left this hell-hole and before Dad died.” Alice was stunned. She had no idea, they hadn’t told her. It didn’t make sense either, the Umbrella Academy Kids had it all, Fame, fortune, power, but Klaus was more willing to live on the streets than in this mansion. She gulped down her intrusive questions timidly putting forward the only one that really mattered to her.

 

“Did you ever drive… Drunk? Or high?” she asked he opened both eyes to look at her fully.

 

“I don’t know how to drive, Dad didn’t teach any of us. The ones of us who have a license got it after.” He looked at her curiously as she nodded beginning to take his vitals. “did they get him?”

 

“Who?” she said absently rising once she was finished to open the doors and invite the family back in to the room. Relief settled in her chest around her heart, she liked Klaus and hadn’t wanted to have to leave him.

 

“The guy, the Drunk guy. Did they get him?”

 

“Yes.” She nodded sliding the doors open to an empty hallway. Not even Dave, he must have been whisked off by one of the siblings to get out of the house and see some of the future. Klaus kept pestering him to do that. Not that Klaus had actually wanted him to leave she presumed. She turned back to Klaus, face questioning. Now that she had some time alone with him she might as well run some ideas by him. She paused standing behind the couch mouth moving from side to side in thought. Before, Fuck it, she came out with it.

 

“You wouldn’t happen to be allergic to dogs, would you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys are catching up in my cushion again! I might not be able to post tomorrow because I need to build up some extra writing and editing time, I only have time to write and edit right now 3 nights a week. 
> 
> I don't know if you were all able to guess at Alice's back story it was heavily hinted at. 
> 
> The names of the streets that the shelters are on are actually just from my life LOL one is the street I grew up on and the other is one of the streets my work is on. by the by, do they ever say where TUA takes place? I'v'e just been calling it 'the city' I thiiink someone said it was NYC but IDK if thats right I like the vauge mystic of 'the city' though. 
> 
> as the sticker under my right palm on my laptop says, Live Fast Die Young
> 
> NGF


	36. All Dogs are puppies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Not a puppy- we would need something bigger, stronger preferably.” She re-settled herself on the floor and gave Klaus a pointed look, though she knew he was just teasing his siblings. “But probably something about a year old would be best. If you can still call that a puppy.” Klaus nodded sagely.
> 
> “All dogs are puppies.” He was being to sound like Liam now, Liam was nine.

 

It turned out that, no, Klaus was not allergic to dogs. By the time that his family with Dave in tow returned from their spur of the moment shopping trip Alice had retrieved the binder full of research on Service Dogs from her car and gone over it all with Klaus. When everyone filed into the living room, grocery bags in hand Klaus was propped up slightly straighter and looking over some articles with Alice. Pogo and Grace were sat on a couch off to the side, both approved of the idea immensely though neither would ever admit that they never in a million years would have thought of it. Though once Alice had brought it up it seemed so obvious.

 

“When can we go?” Klaus was asking Alice eagerly.

 

“it depends I could go on Thursday-“

 

“No! I need to be there too! I want to help pick someone out!” Alice bit her lip and did some quick calculations.

 

“If we could get you in a chair maybe but I…”

 

“Not until you’re Fever-free for 24 hours.” Grace cut in putting a finality on the issue with a kind smile that Alice sort of envied. She wondered if Grace could teach her that ‘Mom voice’ or maybe even let her like download it into a text to speech app? Klaus pouted as confused siblings continued to enter the room.

 

“Wait wait wait.” Diego set down a plastic bag that seemed to be full of nothing but cans of soup. “What’s happening?”

 

“I’m getting a puppy!” Klaus informed him happily smooshing back into his pillows and letting the article about how dogs could detect seizures through smell float down on to his lap. Alice grabbed it and stood up placing it back into its proper page protected place in her binder.

 

“Not a puppy- we would need something bigger, stronger preferably.” She re-settled herself on the floor and gave Klaus a pointed look, though she knew he was just teasing his siblings. “But probably something about a year old would be best. If you can still call that a puppy.” Klaus nodded sagely.

 

“All dogs are puppies.” He was being to sound like Liam now, Liam was nine.

 

“Wait wait WAIT.” Luther set the two dozen shopping bags he was carrying down on the floor and crossed his arms. “We are NOT bringing a dog into this house.” Allison came around his shoulder looking thoughtful and started to root around almost idly in the bags Luther had just abandoned- finding a small stuffed pink llama and holding it out to Klaus.

 

            “Are you thinking about a service dog?” She directed the question to Alice but she seemed to be asking everyone who hadn’t been on the shopping trip. Alice nodded removing the tag from the llama without even bothering to realize that Klaus was a grown adult and she didn’t have to do that for him.

 

            “Yes, I think Klaus would be a good match for owner training. The dog can learn along with him and it would give him a goal to work towards… Plus I read that dogs can sometimes sense seizures up to 45 minutes before they happen and that would be extremely helpful to his recovery.” She left out the part about being at the end of her rope with his damaging seizures after experiencing just about three, Allison nodded following with Alice’s logic easily.

 

            “In her school, a girl in Claire’s class had a service dog for diabetes, but I don’t know that much about it.” It was Alice’s turn to nod this time.

 

            “Yeah, they can be used for all kinds of things, eventually a dog could even help Klaus with walking. Counter-balance him as well as brace to provide support,” she paused mulling over what to include and choosing her next words carefully, “I also know that veterans often have service dogs for PTSD…” She let the sentence hang in the air. They all knew what she was implying, Dave raised his eyebrows a bit but said nothing at first, sliding himself into his usual spot in bed with Klaus.

 

            “I don’t really know what a service dog is, I doubt we had them in the thirties. But it’s a good idea, I can understand wanting a Dog with you all the time after going through a war.” He slid his arms around Klaus, and well if he held him a little tighter when he mentioned the war who would really notice?

 

            “Isn’t it a little…” Diego gestured vaguely with his hand still gloved against the plummeting temperature outside “Premature?” Alice shrugged.

 

            “I honestly don’t know. There isn’t a protocol or standard treatment for any of this, physically or emotionally. I’m just saying I think it has the potential to be really helpful.” To her surprise Vanya chimed in.

 

            “I agree. I think it’s a good idea and it might help to give you something to work towards with your PT?” Alice nodded grabbing her binder and holding it out to the group.

 

            “Exactly, the earlier we integrate a dog the better, we can experiment with tasks the dog can and can’t help with so I know what to focus on.”  Vanya took the binder hesitantly.

 

            “I meant as like a future goal or like… maybe a reward?” she bit her lip tenderly, sheepish “it works sometimes with my students or…”

 

            “Dad used to do it when we were kids, stop a bad guy…” Diego began the phrase mockingly.

 

            “…Get ice cream after.” Allison finished, Klaus rolled his eyes.

 

            “Yeah I remember,” Klaus took on a posh and clipped British accent, mimicking Reginald. “Number Four! You did not manage to kill a single criminal by yourself? Incompetent! No dessert for a month!”  Alice tried to suppress and file away for later her horror that Reginald Hargraves apparently rewarded the murder of criminals in the same way that most parents rewarded good behavior or a straight A report card. She couldn’t focus on that, she had a goal to accomplish.

 

            “…Right, but that’s not actually what I mean. I would like to integrate a dog as soon as possible. You’re talking about rewarding his recovery, it doesn’t work like that, the dog would be crucial in the recovery.” And possibly motivate him, give him reason to want to recover and get better. The dog could give Klaus something tangible to convince him that freedom really was in his future, help him to understand that his life wasn’t over. From what she had seen from Klaus so far he was very tactile, probably from living in a reality were he regularly saw things that weren’t really there, she suspected that having a dog physically with him might help the concept of freedom and independence itself be tactile, and there for more real. Everyone was silent. Diego took the binder from Vanya and began to flip through it idly, not spending long enough on any page to absorb anything but confirming that Alice had in fact thought this through more than a whim of an idea. There was research on everything from equipment to laws regarding service dogs.

 

            “You’re pretty serious about this aren’t you?” Alice took a breath and nodded. Choosing her path and preparing to stand her ground, she was making this her hill to die on- this was the right choice for Klaus. She knew it. Luther looked from her to Diego to Klaus and then to Allison. He looked like he was going to say something but Diego cut him off by snapping the binder shut, it made an unsatisfying whap sound when the page protectors flopped back together and the whole thing flopped flaccidly sideways. It was a soft sided binder and didn’t provide nearly the drama Diego had probably been going for.  

 

            “It’s up to Klaus.” Diego said flatly, dropping the binder so it slapped on to a nearby table, everyone turned to look at Klaus who was settled into Dave’s side, his eyes starting to drift closed.

 

            “Hmm? What? When do we get to go to the shelter?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say tonight! It's raining like crazy where I live and I am LIVING FOR IT 
> 
> the next few chapters are focused on the dog stuff... the dog might be too perfect and too smart and I want to say that I KNOW it doesn't work like that but I want to write about Klaus having a SD so the training is gonna be a little rushed ok? ok. I also want to say I probably know a bit more about service dogs than the average person I do not myself have a service dog and I do not even own a dog but dogs and disability are two major interests for me, I don't want to get into why it's kind of a lot but I have learned about SDs for IDK if I would call it fun but I can't think of a better word and would like to go to bed now. 
> 
> Hope everyone is having a good summer so far, I've just been working like a lot. 
> 
> NGF


	37. good dogs really good dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DOGGIES

_“It’s up to Klaus.” Diego said flatly, dropping the binder so it slapped on to a nearby table, everyone turned to look at Klaus who was settled into Dave’s side, his eyes starting to drift closed._

_“Hmm? What? When do we get to go to the shelter?”_

* * *

 

As it turned out Klaus himself wasn’t going to be going to the shelter. After discussing the logistics with both Pogo, Grace, and a very grumpy Klaus himself it was decided that it was far too risky. A compromise was made, Alice would go to the shelter with Luther, Diego and Allison. Klaus would tag along digitally via facetime. The plan was to find several canine candidates and bring them back to the house for Klaus to meet in person and see if there was any chemistry.

 

Allison again pulled the same some sort of magic that she had used to find the agency and thereby Alice and was able to get the whole thing set up. Klaus whined about still wanting to go with them but in the end he was too eager to meet his ‘new best friend- sorry Ben’, and waiting until he was fit to go would take far too long. Plus Alice wondered if he would ever be fit to go without the dog.

 

Alice was fully aware that there were organizations for this kind of thing, that were set up to train a dog to the requirements of a patient. That, however, didn’t seem to be the right fit to her. Her plan was to get a shelter dog that had chemistry with Klaus and a private trainer together and see what they could do. She even knew a man who had experience working with service dogs that she had recommended to Pogo and Grace, insisting that while she had a plan assistance from an actual dog person would be valuable. When she and Pogo last spoke her guy had signed the NDA and was willing and excited to work with a new dog, starting from scratch. Like Alice he had never been one to back down from a challenge.

 

            Their motley crew of Alice, Diego, Luther and Allison arrived at the city’s main flagship  shelter with a mission and a list of requirements assembled from both Grace, Pogo, and Alice’s medical specifications including a few recommendations from Brandon the trainer, along with these there were various requests from the siblings, Luther wanted to ensure among other things that ‘the animal was non-aggressive’ -as if they could choose a dog to be a service dog that was aggressive- and Five had specified that he wanted something ‘non-slobbery’ while Allison was hoping for something good with children, still holding out hope that Claire would be allowed to visit soon. Though Alice didn’t know the specifics of her separation and custody agreement with her ex she was sure that the situation with Klaus wasn’t doing her any favors custody wise. Alice was beginning to worry that they wouldn’t be able to find the right dog.

 

Despite themselves there was an energy of excitement in the air as they departed from the van, Alice had made it clear to them that the service dog – handler relationship was a unique one and this would not be a dog for their family. Klaus had happily suggested that they also get a cat while they were there. Allison, however, had been firm, there was only to be one animal adopted today. The four of them went in to meet Lindsey, the women who had set up the meeting and had even been nice enough to find a few dogs that met their requirements and she thought might be good matches.

 

            Back at the manor Five had been put in charge of setting up facetime. The idea was that if there were any problems he could just pop over to the shelter. With much muttering about how stupid it was that he get stuck with this job due to his power, and whether or not he was setting up the iPad had nothing to do with his ability to jump to the shelter if needed, Five erected a tray table across the bed in the living room with the iPad. Klaus was slumped into Dave, still burning bright with fever. In the roughly two days since Alice had pulled the trigger on her dog plan Klaus’s condition had reminded about the same, he had another seizure in the interlude, and the infection in his lungs reminded worryingly persistent and strong. Klaus coughed twice firmly into the sleeve of Luther’s enormous sweatshirt. Feeling jittery and nervous. Dave rubbed at his shoulder and gave him a lopsided side smile.

 

            Dave was barely containing his excitement, he loved dogs, he had a German Shepard named Champ when he was a kid and he could remember how smart that dog was, and that was way back when, now in the fricking future dogs had probably gotten even smarter. He didn’t know whose idea it was to start training them to provide help to people but he was in love with the idea, he had no clue why they hadn’t started doing that earlier, Diego had even told him there were dogs used by the police and military now. Dave thought that sounded fantastic and Vanya had helped him look at videos online of Dogs doing all kind of things, like opening drawers and sniffing out bombs. The future, he decided once again was incredible. The iPad that was propped in front of them was also fascinating, screen teaming with color and life. Klaus poked at it idly with his finger as if it would make Allison and Luther appear faster.

 

            “Why haven’t they called yet?” he whined for the millionth time.

 

            “They have to meet with that woman first Klaus, it’ll be fine they’ll call.” Vanya reassured him causing him to pout. After a beat Klaus opened his mouth to say something again just as the iPad exploded with Allison’s face making Dave jump a little, they had told him what was going to happen, but he wasn’t really prepared. Klaus tapped the green button and instantly the sounds of dogs barking filled the room.

 

            “Hi! Sorry about that we had to sign a few papers.” Klaus waved his still bandaged hand in front of the screen.

 

            “It’s fine, I told you they’d call Vanya!” Vanya, unseen by the iPad’s webcam, rolled her eyes.

 

            “Okay, here we go.” Alice’s voice came and drew Allison’s eyes off screen she tapped at her phone and turned the camera outwards pointing it to where Alice was kneeling next to a row of kennels. The first one was a golden retriever, “This is Max.” Alice said flipping through the clipboard, “Lindsey says he’s very smart, good with kids…” Max barked once letting his tongue flop sideways out of his mouth, tail wagging happily.

           

            “I like him.” Luther said somewhere off screen, a giant hand appeared for Max to sniff at.

 

            “You would.” Diego replied.

 

            “Nope. Next.”  Klaus said. Next was a serious German Shepard named Lucy who Diego and Dave both instantly liked, then they went through the Labs, a couple poodles some more golden retrievers, two more German Shepherds. Alice was making a loop back around the kennel with Lindsey who was pointing out dogs that she thought might have potential, so far Max and Lucy were the only standouts, despite the fact that Klaus had rejected them both, Alice wasn’t really sure what he was looking for, and she doubted he knew either.

 

            “And this over here is…” Lindsey was starting to say gesturing towards an Australian Shepherd mix with flashy blue eyes.

 

            “Wait what was that.” Klaus said.

 

            “hmm?” Lindsey replied politely, so far, she had seemed annoyed with Klaus, despite the fact that in truth he was the one adopting the dog, fawning heavily over Allison and Luther and oddly avoiding Diego. It didn’t help that Klaus seemed so dismissive of all her favorite pups, ones she had set aside for him to look at, good dogs really good dogs.

 

            “The one to the left, blue clipboard.” Diego, who had been passed off the job of camera man, panned back shakily to a kennel they had breezed by. Diego had thought it was empty at first, on further inspection there was a dog laying in a corner of the kennel not on his bed. They had missed him at first because the dog was almost the same color as the concreate he was laying on. Grey, with a large blocky head. Diego bent down by the bars so Klaus could get a better look. The dog raised his head and glanced back at the group forming by his door, he was large and built with short velvety looking fur. Alice picked up the clipboard and looked it over, reading out loud for Klaus.

 

            “He just came in, stray, no name. About a year old, pit-bull or staffy mix?” She looked to Lindsey whose lips were pursed in complaint.

 

            “We aren’t sure, he came in off the street a few days ago, he won’t even sleep in his bed, he hasn’t bitten anyone- yet- but we have no idea if he’s ever had training…”

 

            “I want him.” Klaus said hoarsely almost desperately.

 

            “No, you don’t.” Lindsey said starting to move back towards the Australian Shepherd they had been heading for, “As I was saying, this is Daisy.”

 

            “He’s a candidate.” Klaus said more instant this time sitting up a bit, which sent him into a coughing jag that ripped out of him and echoed through the phone and into the kennel. The nameless dog turned to the sound cocking his head to the side, Lindsey frowned- hesitant, she seemed somewhat afraid of the dog despite him seeming totally non-aggressive and the fact that she herself had confirmed that he hadn’t bitten anyone in his time there.

 

The dog stood and made its way to the bars, eyes fixed on the phone he barked once. Alice raised her eyebrows and bent until she was eye-level with the dog, she didn’t have to go far, he was large and she was short. He looked at her almost as if he were asking a question and challenging her at the same time, almost like he was saying ‘well?’. Alice nodded and handed the clipboard to Lindsey.

 

            “Add this one to the pile. We have three possible matches, that’s enough for now.” She turned to Lindsey, “You’ll meet us at the house with them to meet Klaus?” Lindsey was still looking at the dog who was standing at the ready in the kennel she shook herself and then nodded.

 

            “Right.” Alice turned to take the phone from Diego.

 

            “We’ll be back soon.” She disconnected the call. Glancing back at the dog waiting patiently for his leash. She had no doubt that this was the dog and had very few qualms about just signing the papers and taking just him back to the house but Max and Lucy had been strong contenders too despite Klaus’s initial rejection, they could surprise her and have chemistry with Klaus in person. Though somehow, she doubted they would out preform this last dog. Just a hunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has my spacing gotten weird? Idk whatever. Brandon will not be in this story much, he is named after Brandon Macmillan from the show Lucky Dog which I looove I put him in when I realized that a actual Dog trainer would be needed. He is not actually Brandon from Lucky dog but just named after him as a nod to it. 
> 
>  
> 
> thoughts, comments, concerns, put em in the comment box bitches. 
> 
> yeet 
> 
> NGF


	38. I think I’ll take this one please

All three dogs were well behaved when introduced to the whole family. They were kept on leash as a precaution- it was a good thing too because Max would have definitely jumped right on to Klaus’s lap if let free which would have been a big problem due to some still healing fractures, overall Max enjoyed the attention he got immensely and his tail vibrated anytime his name was so much as mentioned, covering everyone in slobber. Lucy seemed somewhat afraid of all the medical equipment but was mostly alright, not nearly as excitable as Max but willing to accept pats and give kisses. The last dog looked almost unimpressed with his new high-class surroundings but was fairly interested in Klaus sniffing at his hand and even giving him a few gentle licks.

 

Klaus was scratching the last dog under his chin when Lindsey suggested a demonstration of a few common commands. Klaus reluctantly let her pull the dog back. The dog went with her at first, before beginning to bark frantically pulling on his leash until he was standing on his back two paws pulling at the lead to get to Klaus.

 

“I’m sorry-“ Lindsey struggled to pull the dog back under her control, “-about… this…But… I… did…warn you”

 

“It’s alright.” Diego started to say reaching out to help her when, BEEEP

 

 

BEEP

 

BEEPBEEPBEEP

 

Klaus’s monitors were going crazy as the un-named dog’s barks and yelps lowered into a whimper.

* * *

 

The seizure passed almost as quickly as it had come about. Leaving Klaus panting and coughing, the un-named dog pulled at his leash again suddenly almost causing Lindsey to fall. Alice swopped in and took the lead from her hands, walking the dog up to the side of the bed. He sniffed cautiously at Klaus’s limp hand and began to lick at it insistently. Klaus’s eyes fluttered open and the dog placed his fount two paws on the mattress almost gingerly to lick at Klaus’s face. Klaus’s hands came up instinctively to block the intrusion but settled back on to the dog’s neck and head in a loose sort of hug. The dog laid himself out at Klaus’s side, laying his head down so it was loosely cupped under one of Klaus’s hands. Klaus smiled tiredly but genuinely and scratched at the dog’s ear, looking to Alice and then to Dave who were both looking on in approval. Finally, he looked at Lindsey.

 

            “I think I’ll take this one please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow it's been a minute! I was going to post and write yesterday but I wasn't feeling it... today I wasn't either but I was like okk I'll try and then before you know it I have done a thousand words! there is only a few more establishing the dog (who gets a name in the next chapter!) then there is other stuff..... ploty stufff.... *shifty eyes*
> 
> also funny story I started to edit the last chapter for today and I was like........ wait a cotton picking minute what the heckity so I had to check what had been posted. 
> 
> anywho have a great night and don't come into toy stores drunk. 
> 
> NGF


	39. Ducky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What? Oh, his name is Ducky.” Klaus said simply

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY IT ME YO GIRL NOT DEAD

Diego watched the unnamed pit bull end up laying at his brother’s side like a guard dog, fitting himself there as if he had always been there, like a piece that they hadn’t known was missing until it was found, and suddenly everything clicked into place and he understood. He understood Alice’s vision with brining the dog in to the picture, he even was beginning to understand what this dog could do for his brother, the doors it would open for him, Alice had been planning this moment, this connection that Klaus seemed to instantly form with this dog. 

This dog that shared things with Klaus he never would, this dog was a stray that had been brought in with no name and no family, just like Klaus had, this dog had lived on the streets, maybe escaping a home where he hadn’t been wanted or appreciated. Then the dog had apparently refused to sleep in the bed he was given in the shelter, which to Diego seemed like the dog was giving the canine finger to his situation, showing his displeasure at being contained and restrained to only being around people who so obviously didn’t like or understand him…It was possible that Diego was projecting on to the dog a little bit. In any case the dog seemed to be the perfect match for Klaus, and the dog seemed to know it too. 

Lindsey was organizing the paperwork for Klaus to sign in order to make it official. 

“Do you have a name for him?” she asked, Klaus was busy scratching behind the dog’s ears and making his tail wag loosely. 

“What? Oh, his name is Ducky.” Klaus said simply re-focusing on Lindsey for a moment. 

“Ducky?” She replied sounding stunned. “Ducky” to his part seemed happy his tail wag seeming to pick up tempo at the unusual name. 

“Yup.” She made a face that clearly said she didn’t approve of the name but wrote it down all the same. Then she held out the papers for Klaus to sign. Klaus’s signature was predictably loopy and un-readable. Diego even swore he saw a smiley face worked in somewhere. Lindsey stood up and took her papers with her, getting Lucy and Max to follow her out, she did not ask to be shown the way to the door. 

Klaus let out a breath and sunk a few inches into his pillows closing his eyes and rubbing a knuckle across his face. 

“Tired?” Dave asked words brimming over with sympathy. Ducky perked his head up and gave Klaus’s face a gentle lick before settling his head back down and closing his own eyes. 

“It’s been an eventful day.” Alice said getting up to check Klaus’s vitals, a process that was surprisingly not more difficult with a dog in the bed. “For both of you,” She smiled at Ducky ruffling his ears and seeing one of his eyes open look at her and then close, “you should get some rest, tomorrow we can start training.” She stood to give the monitors a once over and change out his bag of fluid, but she could already hear Klaus snoring lightly hand curled gently around Ducky’s ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow um it's been a friggin MINUTEE I am so sorry I'm sure some of you thought I had abandoned this but NOPE I just had LIFE happenin. I didn't mean to take a un announced hiatus but I was burnt out form the summer and then I got sick (and didn't want to write about Klaus being sick when I myself was sick) and then I had to pack and then I had to drive and then I had to move in! I am officially moved in I just have to throw out an empty box also after today I am officially a COLLEGE SENIOR how fucking scary is that??? this year is going to be busy for me, it just is, so I don't know if I will be able to update super often. I have to do an intership and comunity service for graduation and um graduating college is more important to me than this fic, sorry there I said it. it does really help me de-compress after a day so we shall see. But I feel like I'm already behind after 1 day of classes HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE ALSO AUDITIONS FOR The FIRST SHOW ARE THuRSDAy WHAT THE FUUUUCKKK. so yeah you could say I'm not having a relaxing senior year so far it didn't help that they MADE us START CLASSES ON LABOR DAY like WTF I will never not be salty about that I think. I also have recently fallen back into my animal crossing addiction, I think it is because when life is just so much you want to go be mayor of a town of animals and catch bugs and collect fruit. ANYWAYS that is the end of my long ass life update and rant you didn't want. 
> 
> hope everyone who is returning to a school is having a good time, and if you are not I hope you are greatful you don't have to buy textbooks   
> NGF


	40. And where do you think you’re going?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And where do you think you’re going?” It was Katie standing by the entry to the living room in her fluffiest pink pajamas, her arms crossed across her chest and a glare on her face that had been inherited right from her mother.

Ducky as it turned out, did seem to have very basic training. He was housebroken which was a huge win according to Brandon, and he knew the common commands like sit, stay and down. He was also a remarkably trainable dog, seeming eager to learn, he took to wearing his training vest like a tiger took to having stripes and he had a remarkable love for Klaus. The most pressing and instantly useful task for Ducky to learn was seizure alerts, he had proven to have the innate ability to sense seizures now just came the long process of honing it from frenzied barking to a controlled touch of the paw followed by a series of tasks. When Klaus was more mobile the plan was to have Ducky urge him to sit or lie down before a seizure to prevent falls. The next major group of tasks were mobility related. Ducky was a large enough dog that he would eventually be able to brace to provide support for Klaus. Presently having Klaus able to sit up with only Ducky’s help was a major goal, from there they could work on having Ducky aid him into a wheelchair.

 

Brandon also took Ducky aside daily to train him in basic commands and etiquette that a service animal needs to know, usually while Klaus and Alice were working on PT. A routine was developing at the Hargraves manor, their delicate system was violently broken when Klaus’s fever spiked only a few days after Ducky’s induction into the family.

 

Alice had gone home for the day it was a Friday night so Liam and Katie had insisted upon a movie night. They were over halfway through the third Thor movie when Alice got a panicked call from Diego. Klaus’s fever was climbing rapidly, and he was racked with chills and miserable, two seizures since she left a few hours ago. In the background of the call she could hear Ducky’s distressed whimpers. She began to find her shoes and throw her coat on over her PJs when,

 

“And where do you think you’re going?” It was Katie standing by the entry to the living room in her fluffiest pink pajamas, her arms crossed across her chest and a glare on her face that had been inherited right from her mother. She looked so much like Bonnie sometimes Alice thought she had picked up the ability to see ghosts from Klaus during her time at the Hargraves.

 

“Klaus….” She began feeling ridiculous for having to explain herself to her thirteen year-old niece. “I have a work emergency.” She said eventually, with a finality she was somewhat proud of, prior to the accident she had been the indulgent aunt, never saying no to her niece and nephew, the adjustment to a parent role had been hard for everyone, and her reluctance to set boundaries still reared its ugly head now and again.

 

“It’s almost midnight! _And_ it’s raining.” So it was, but that was no reason for Katie to start to put on _her_ jacket over her PJs.

 

“What are you doing?” Alice was panicked now she had been working at the Hargraves for just over a week and had been thus far successful at keeping her niece and nephew none the wiser as to the identities of the family who now employed her, all they knew is that her patients name was Klaus. Them finding out could be troublesome, Katie, idolized Allison and Liam was deep in the throes of a superhero and space phase. Meting Luther and Diego would give his tiny brain an aneurism.

 

“I’m coming with you.”

 

“Katie no… you can’t…Like you said it’s past midnight you two should be in bed anyways.”

 

“I wanna come!” Liam grabbed his jacket from the rack and wiggled in to it.

 

“Guys, this is work stuff I-“ Her phone started buzzing in to an explosion of texts cut her off. Something was really wrong, she had to go. Like now, plus she couldn’t really leave them alone.  “Okay, okay. Come on we need to leave.”

 

And that, is how all of the remaining Smith family went from a family movie night to standing in the pouring rain outside the Umbrella Academy in their pajamas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ............   
> Well. I have nothing to say for myself except for that college is hard, and that the time away did help me a bit with the writing, fresh eyes and all that. I did feel bad thinking about the fact that I had this and other chapters written up just not ready to post yet. but today I managed to get some writing in so I posted! IDK when I will post next but I did find a picture of Emmy and tape it to my dorm wall so she's there to remind me. 
> 
> I have been watching a lot of Dexter recently and there is NO GOOD FICS FOR IT so if you have any good dexter recs (whumpy ones????) please let me know. 
> 
> Keep it crispy kitties.   
> NGF


End file.
